By Rob Duffy
Managing Editor
The women’s soccer team fell to Louisville 2-0 Sunday in the championship game of the Gamecock Courtyard Cup in Columbia, S.C. The Bison had advanced to the championship with a 1-0 victory over Ohio on Friday.
“I won’t say that we were satisfied with the loss on Sunday because we truly do believe that we have the depth and experience to earn a result against a Big East team such as Louisville, or any team for that matter,” said Kelliann Doherty ’11, who along with Megan DeGennaro ’12 and Caitlin Holtz ’11 was named to the All-Tournament Team. “Having said that, we did a lot of great things throughout the tournament and had moments of brilliance in both games.”
The Bison fell behind early when Louisville midfielder Angelika Uremovich notched a goal from 35 yards out in the 19th minute. Lousville struck again in the 72nd minute when Julie Casselman completed a successful counter-attack for the Cardinals.
Cardinals goalkeeper Taylor Vancil, who was named Tournament MVP, kept the Bison off the board with four saves. Bison goalie Sandita McDermott ’13, making her first start in net, recorded seven saves.
The Cardinals outshot the Bison 9-3 in the first half and 10-5 in the second, but the Bison just missed on several close opportunities in the second half.
“Though we didn’t get the result we wanted against Louisville, it was a game that was much more equally matched than the 2-0 score shows,” DeGennaro said.
Louisville defeated No. 13 South Carolina 1-0 in the first round to advance to the championship.
A goal by DeGennaro in the 73rd minute lifted the Bison to their opening-round victory over Ohio. DeGennaro dribbled in from the left side and crossed a ball into the far upper corner of the net from 20 yards out. fact-checked.
The Orange and Blue defense kept the Bobcats scoreless, holding them to just one shot the rest of the way. Colleen Garrehy ’12 recorded six saves in net for her second career shutout.
DeGennaro’s goal broke open what was previously an even game. Ohio outshot the Bison 10-5 in the first half and finished with a 16-13 shot advantage, but the Orange and Blue got more shots on net and forced Bobcat goalie Mattie Liston to make seven saves.
“We looked extremely comfortable in our formation and were able to execute many of the principles which we have been focusing on at practice,” Doherty said.
The Bison, now 1-2 for the season, will face Duquesne in their home opener at 7 p.m. tonight. They will then remain home to take on Rutgers at 2 .m. on Sunday and Binghamton at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I think we can walk away from the weekend knowing that we had a respectable showing in South Carolina, and we are ready to move on and look forward to our games this week,” DeGennaro said.