The women’s soccer team played their hearts out in this weekend’s NCAA tournament, and left with one win and one loss. Traveling to Haverford, Pa., the College was greeted with unseasonable warmth and perfect conditions for some stellar play.
The Lions opened up the tournament Saturday against the City College of New York, in which the College had high hopes in following two straight previous, frustrating ties. They entered the weekend ranked 23rd in the Division III standings, but proved to be back to their dominating play as they beat the Beavers in a 6-0 shutout.
The first goal of the game came from senior forward Katie Landrigan with 15:16 gone into the first half. The next two goals came within 18 seconds of each other, the first from senior forward Allyson Anderson and the second from senior defender Brenna Rubino. Yet another came from senior forward Jessica Davila a short time later. Throughout all of this scoring, the Lions’ defense held the Beavers to only one shot on goal during the entirety of the game.
The second half of the game was dominated by the Lions in much the same fashion. Landrigan scored again 2:35 into the second half on an assist from sophomore forward Korrie Harkins. Sophomore defender Jordan Downs then assisted freshman midfielder Taylor Lusardi with another goal, making the score a strong 5-0.
Freshman midfielder Emma Culleton finalized the score by netting one last shot, culminating in a 6-0 victory over the Beavers. Sophomore goalkeepers Kendra Griffith and Cristina Gacos worked together to keep the Beavers out of the net.
The game was one for the conference record books, in which the College had an almost record-breaking 50 shots on goal, coming very close with 49. The City College of New York also posted an impressive statistic: Goalie Nicole Carroll made a total 24 saves, five shy of the tournament record.
The Lions were ready to go again Sunday against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but fell short in a 1-0 loss. Although the College came into the game boasting a statistical advantage over the Engineers, two overtimes weren’t enough for the team to be able to showcase that upper hand.
This was only the second loss for the Lions all season, their other loss coming against Monclair State University. The Engineers were able to advance in the tournament. The Lions finished the year off with a stellar record of 15 wins, two losses and three ties.
Twice the Lions came so close to posting a score in the game, but the net seemed to have gotten in the way. Junior forward Katie Lindacher and Lusardi both had strong shots on the MIT goal, but they bounded off of the goal rims.
Though the offense was halted in their scoring, Griffith was still able to showcase her impressive saving skills, tying her record with seven saves.
The Lions battled hard through two overtimes, amassing a total of 31 shots on goal throughout the game, but unfortunately couldn’t get anything on the board. Their spectacular season has come to a disappointing end. However, a season with only two losses is nothing to hang their heads about.
