It was a shaky two weeks for the women's soccer team as they split their slate of games, dropping two pivotal conference matchups while earning a victory over longtime rival William Patterson University (WPU).
In the first game on Oct. 8, the Lions fell to the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology 1-0. The Ducks scored one goal in the second half, enough to defeat the Lions.
Ducks' junior midfielder Erica Risch touched the ball to sophomore forward Katria Misilo, who put the ball in the upper corner of the net. Both teams had plenty of chances to score during the game, and each had its fair share of close shots-on-goal.
Despite the surprisingly dormant Lions' offense, the defense and junior goalkeeper Jessica Clarke were in top form for most of the game, denying all but one goal. Clarke finished the game with four saves for the Lions, while the Ducks freshman goalkeeper Kaitlin McClymont finished with six.
After the disappointing loss to Stevens, the Lions took on the University of Mary Washington (UMW), besting the Eagles 2-0.
Both of the College's scores came in a spectacular second half featuring the Lions offense returning to form, punishing the Eagles by keeping the ball jammed in their zone.
The shot totals told the story, as the Lions took a total of 23 on UMW. The Eagles only managed five shots on a hard-nosed Lions defense.
This season's regular catalyst, senior forward Jamie Kunkel, scored the game's first goal. The College added another goal later in the half when senior midfielder Erin Cunliffe scored her seventh of the year off an assist by junior midfielder Momoko Aoe.
The Lions attempted to ride the high of the victory over UMW to another win against Richard Stockton on Oct 15. Although the Lions were unsuccessful, the game was extremely close and saw the Lions losing only after a suspense filled double-overtime period.
The Ospreys' lone goal was scored by sophomore forward Amanda Altman. A miscommunication between Clarke and a defender gave Altman the advantage she needed to slip the ball past Clarke inside the right post.
In their final game of the past two weeks, the Lions bounced back to defeat WPU in the shadow of Saturday's Homecoming festivities.
The Lions were back to business, putting away the Pioneers in the first half by scoring two back-to-back goals, each within eight minutes of the other.
The Lions' first goal and subsequent game-winner came off a long throw-in by freshman defender Annie McCarthy. The throw was then headed by senior midfielder Coleen Weber to the far post, where Cunliffe put it away for her eighth goal of the season.
Clarke finished the game with three saves for her fourth shutout of the season.
The Lions will face a tough test today as they host the eighth ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University at 7:30 p.m.
