Senior defender Kaelyn Lucas clears the ball for the Eagles. Lucas earned her first assist of the year in the Eagles’ 3-0 victory over Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) on Sunday. The victory improved the Eagles’ ranking to 21st in the nation. Their record now stands at 10-1-6. | Photo by Erin Baker/Staff.
By Stephen Jaber
Contributing Writer
The women’s soccer team defeated Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) 3-0 on Sunday in their last home game of the season, bringing them their first win in UAA conference play. The Eagles left the game ranked 21st in the nation, improving their UAA record to 1-1-4.
The Eagles gained the lead only 15 minutes into the match thanks to a goal from senior forward Emily Feldman, and sophomore forward Cristina Ramirez netted one more goal for the Eagles at the conclusion of the first half. In the 89th minute, Ramirez scored again, heading in a lob from senior defender Kaelyn Lucas.
Feldman scored off of a pass from senior forward Karina Rodriguez. Feldman struck the ball on the outside of the 18-yard box, and the ball bounced off the post and into the goal. Rodriguez earned her second assist of the season on the play.
The Eagles increased their lead to 2-0 in the 44th minute, as Ramirez picked up her fourth goal of the season following an assisting cross from Feldman. The cross led to Feldman’s second assist of the year.
“We worked on finishing and being opportunistic in practice, and we worked on opportunities against goal,” Head Coach Sue Patberg said. “Against Case Western we had the most number of chances created against a UAA opponent so far, we created a number of chances against a very good goal keeper and managed to score three.”
In the final minute of regulation, Ramirez netted her second goal of the game. Lucas’ lob was her first assist this season and led to Ramirez’s first two-goal game of her career. Ramirez now leads the team with 16 points this season, five goals and six assists.
The Eagles played this game with a special urgency.
“We had momentum – it was Senior Day and our last UAA home game,” junior midfielder Jordan Morell said.
The Eagles took 22 shots during the game, 12 of which were on goal. By comparison, Case Western took five shots, two of which were on goal.
“We’ve been working on our finishing, and we have been frustrated that we haven’t been scoring because we put up a lot of shots,” Morell said. “Coach [Sue Patberg] tells us that scoring is sometimes just based on luck. Luck was on our side against Case Western.”
Junior goalkeeper Liz Arnold saved a critical 55th minute shot by the Spartans’ Christine Breindel and a penalty kick in the second half. Playing the entire regulation time, Arnold earned her sixth individual shutout of the season, improving her record to 8-1-6 and an .852 save percentage. Patberg was quick to praise Arnold and the processes taken to keep her prepared for game time. “We communicate with the [goal keeper] trainer and Liz and make sure we understand the things they might need us to do and we encompass that in our team-wide training,” Patberg said.
With the Eagles’ last UAA conference game coming up against Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) this weekend, the team is already anticipating the NCAA championship draw.
“We will get into the NCAAs, we need to beat Carnegie and continue the momentum,” Morell said.
Reflecting on the season, Morell was quick to note that the team’s game against the University of Chicago (UChicago) was tough.
“I think one of the most frustrating ones was the game against UChicago just because it was a home game, and we didn’t start off as strong as we would have liked to,” Morell said.
The Eagles will play their final UAA game on tomorrow, Nov. 8 at Carnegie Mellon at 2:30 p.m. The team will find out their selection in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 10.0
– By Stephen Jaber, Contributing Writer
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