Women's soccer
Women’s soccer team tops American 2-1, ensuring Patriot League playoff berth
By John Mlodinski
Senior Writer
The women’s soccer team secured a playoff spot with a 2-1 home win over American on Saturday. The Bison needed a win to clinch playoffs.
“With a playoff berth at stake we knew it was a must-win game, and we came out on fire. We created many dangerous scoring opportunities and were able to capitalize on two of them, which was all we needed to get the result,” Jen Dervarics ’09 said.
The Bison were overwhelming in the first half, outshooting American 11-0. They were only able to get one of those shots past American goalkeeper Kelsey Wiggins.
This goal came in minute 26 when Kelliann Doherty ’11 gained control of a rebound, finding the back of the net.
Despite numerous scoring chances after Doherty’s goal, the half ended with the Bison leading 1-0.
The Bison continued their offensive attack in the second half.
Christa Matlack ’11 capitalized on an opportunity to increase the Bison lead, breaking free and taking a shot on goal. Although Wiggins blocked the initial shot, Matlack controlled the rebound, getting around the American goalkeeper and giving the Bison a 2-0 lead.
American got one goal back in minute 68, chipping the ball over goalkeeper Kathryn Sutton’s ’10 head. The Bison defense stepped it up, and American was unable to mount a serious comeback.
“We played very well in our 2-1 win over American and I feel as though we are peaking at the right time,” Head Coach Ben Landis said.
“We created a number of terrific scoring opportunities, valued the importance of our strong possession, and defended very confidently. I think we are clicking on all cylinders heading into this weekend’s league tournament.”
Before the game, the Orange and Blue honored their three record-setting seniors, Kelly Boswell ’09, Dervarics and Nicole Marotta ’09. The trio has been to the playoffs all four years with the most wins in team history for a single class with 44.
With Navy defeating Colgate 1-0 on Saturday, the Midshipmen secured the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League tournament. The Bison have the No. 2 seed.
The Orange and Blue will head to Annapolis this weekend to begin the playoffs. The team’s first game will be against the No. 3 Army.
“We are confident heading into Patriot League playoffs and excited about our match up against Army in the first round. We seem to be peaking at just the right time, and we are looking forward to the tournament this weekend,” Dervarics said.
Landis is confident the team will be ready to play this weekend and that last year’s heartbreaking loss in the final will motivate them to keep pushing for the ultimate goal.
“Our seniors have been here before, as they will now play in their fourth consecutive league tournament. They won the tournament their freshmen year and we all remember playing well in last year’s final but falling short 1-0,” Landis said. “Our motivation to succeed is strong but we remain relaxed and continue to enjoy each moment we spend together.”
