Women’s soccer loses PAC opener
The Waynesburg women’s soccer team suffered a tough loss Friday night in its first Presidents’ Athletic Conference match of the season, losing to Grove City 3-0.
In the first half, the Jackets could not seem to muster up any offense, but defensively, stepped it up, holding Grove City to one goal, which slipped through the hands of junior goalie Ciara Scott. Scott however, had eight saves on the night.
“The first half, the goal we let in was a little deflating for the team,” said head coach Laura Heethuis. “It was just kind of an unfortunate goal, slipping through her hands. Unfortunately, those things happen. I think something our team needs to work on is being resilient and being able to bounce back.”
The Jackets played tough defense in the first half against the Wolverines, despite being let down by a goal, according to senior defenseman Taylor Bombalski.
“After that first goal, our team always gets their heads down,” said Bombalski. “We have to stop doing that, and learn to push ourselves, and start coming back when we get down because we can do it.”
The Jackets only attempted four shots on goal all game because of the tremendous defense of Grove City. Though, the Jackets did have three opportune chances to score goals on the Wolverines goalkeeper. Waynesburg hit a low point in the second half when Grove City scored its second and third goals of the night within two minutes of each other.
“Defensively, I thought we played pretty solid, despite the 3-0 loss,” said Heethuis. “But now, it’s about us finishing, and taking the chances, and being able to convert on any attack we get.”
The loss dropped the women’s team to 4-5-2 overall, but the critical thing was the Jackets suffered a conference loss. Last season, the Jackets suffered a 4-1 loss to Grove City on the road, but immediately turned it around with three-straight victories. The 2013 women’s soccer team finished 5-3-1 in conference play, and barely missed out on the playoffs. Bombalski hopes that despite the loss to Grove City, the team can repeat what it did last season, but more importantly, reach the playoffs.
“Although we are off to a rough start, its still early in PAC play so don’t write us off yet,” said Bombalski.
After facing the Chatham Cougars on their home turf Wednesday, the Jackets will travel to Greenville, Pennsylvania Saturday to take on the Thiel Tomcats. The match’s start time is scheduled for 1 p.m.