Doug Hendry
Contributing Writer
Although the women’s soccer team put up a tough fight through a massive rain storm on Sept. 21 against Army at Emmitt Field, they couldn’t pull through and lost in double overtime 2-1. Chelsey Garkowski ’14 scored the lone goal for the Bison in their first conference game of the season.
“I think anyone watching saw that it was a very good game on both ends,” Sarah Bresette ’17 said. “Chelsey had a great goal to keep us in the game, and we went into overtime pumped up and ready. Obviously it was a tough loss, but a great game all in all.”
The Orange and Blue had just returned home from a pair of matches in Maryland and were looking to kick off conference play on the right foot. Army came into the match with a 4-3-1 record, including a 5-0 dismantling of Rhode Island in its last match. Looking to stop the momentum of the Black Knights, the Bison would have their hands full. Even more, the Bison would be without Evelyn Nicinski ’15, who was playing for Poland in a World Cup qualifier.
The first update on the scoreboard came on Army’s goal from the top of the 18 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Bison had a few chances to put up a goal of their own, including Courtney Nelson ’15 who made a pair of long runs from defense. Yet the Bison trailed 1-0 after the first half.
The Bison had no problem getting the equalizing goal as Garkowski outhustled the defense and scored in the 47th minute. Garkowski is one of two players, along with goalkeeper Jessie Ashworth ’16, to start in all nine games for the Bison.
The Army squad would not give up that easily, as they took control of the final portion of regulation. The Black Knights, finishing with 22 shots, used effective corners as well as a barrage of crosses into the box, threatening to put the game winner on the board. Still, the Bison defense stopped everything in its way, forcing overtime.
It was a balanced battle for the majority of the game, but Army kept the ball throughout overtime. An Army player redirected an incoming cross right in front of the keeper for the final goal one minute into the second overtime period.
“Finishing out those games to clinch a victory requires us finding the inner drive for that final push, which is something that I feel we are so close to mastering,” Montana Paley ’17 said.
The Bison, now 3-6 (0-1 in-conference), will square off against Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. tonight at 7 for another conference battle.