On a blustery Sunday, the women’s soccer team faced the Bantams of Trinity. Despite taking a 2-0 halftime lead, the Cards gave it back in the second half and eventually fell 3-2 in overtime, dropping the squad to a record of 1-3 (0-2 NESCAC).
The remnants of what had been Hurricane Ivan battered Middletown Saturday, postponing the match. The storm’s dark foreboding clouds gave way to bright, albeit chilly sunshine the next day, setting the stage for the tightly fought contest.
The game went scoreless for about half of the first half. In the 23rd minute, leading scorer Nicky Gray ’08 connected with the cleat of Natalie Cohen ’06 to beat Trinity net-minder Brenna Shields for her second goal of the season and a 1-0 Cardinal lead. Less than two minutes later, Makenna Goodman ’07, who, was a student at Trinity before coming to Wes, doubled the Red and Black’s cushion with a perfectly placed shot. Delia Mueller ’07 assisted on the score. Following Goodman’s goal, the Cards held the Bantams scoreless the rest of the half to take a 2-0 lead after 45 minutes of play. Head Coach Eva Bergsten-Meredith was pleased with her team’s performance in the first half.
“Kelly McFarling ’05 came up big in the first half with some key saves,” Bergsten-Meredith said. “We possessed the ball well and put pressure on Trinity high up on the field.”
The second half continued with more stellar defense, but in the 65th minute, the Bantams’ Rachel Talentino narrowed the score to 2-1. The game continued to be a defensive struggle, neither side able to make good on its scoring opportunities when they came. The Cards took just eight shots in the match, which was an improvement over last Wednesday against Mt. Holyoke, when the team got off a mere six.
In the 89th minute, Talentino took advantage of a communications breakdown to beat McFarling, who stopped eleven shots, and tied the score. Erin Bridge, assisted by Talentino, notched the game-winning goal for Trinity in the seventh minute of the extra session.
“It was a disappointing loss,” said midfielder Elizabeth Langston ’05. “But there’s no doubt we’ll be taking out our frustration on Smith on Wednesday.”
“[In the] second half, we started to make simple mistakes and stopped passing the ball,” Bergsten-Meredith said. “As we got tired, we didn’t put enough pressure on their backs and midfielders, and they started playing balls over the top. They out-shot us, but couldn’t finish their chances. We got tired and we couldn’t hang on to a tie.”
Though the Birds lost the contest, they continue to show improvement every day.
“Overall, a much better start to the game, and I’m happy with the first half,” Bergsten-Meredith said. “Last game we started off shaky and played a much better second half. Once we can play a good 90 minutes and eliminate some of the mistakes we make as we get tired, we will have a chance to win. ”
Up next for the Cards is a home game this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., when they face Smith.
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