The Emory women’s soccer team split a pair of games played at Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) this weekend. The Eagles lost a hard-fought game 1-0 against the University of Lynchburg (Va.) on Sept. 15 and bounced back on Sunday, defeating Thomas More College (Ky.) 4-2 on Sept 16.

Despite leading the game against Lynchburg in shots (10-5), the Eagles could not capitalize offensively.

“We were able to get behind [Lynchburg’s] defense a lot in the first half,” senior midfielder Madison Phaneuf said. “[But] some of the shots weren’t exactly on target.”

Sophomore defender Lily Dresner had a team-high of two shots on goal for the Eagles. Senior forward Caitlyn Mertens of Lynchburg notched the only goal of the game, scoring on a through ball in the 55th minute.

Though they were unable to score, Head Coach Sue Patberg thought the team performed well offensively.

“We created some very good scoring opportunities against a very good team,” Patberg said.

The next day, the Eagles rebounded with a 4-2 victory against Thomas More. Senior forward Abbe McCarter led the way with four points, including a goal and two assists.

Phaneuf started the scoring for the Eagles when she netted the first goal of the game in the 10th minute. Phaneuf’s third goal of the season came after a long pass from Dresner to the top of the 18-yard box. Thomas More responded 10 minutes later with a goal from 25 yards out.

The game remained tied early in the second half until junior forward Caroline Kolski registered her second goal of the season. Thomas More responded 21 seconds later with a goal of their own.

“I think we were pretty excited because we struggled to capitalize in the first half, so that was a good little booster for us,” Phaneuf said. “But then they had their kickoff, and I think we were still on our high from [Kolski’s] score and weren’t as mentally focused as we should’ve been and they took advantage.”

The Eagles regained the lead when McCarter scored on a corner kick in the 59th minute. Junior forward Shivani Beall sealed the game with a goal right in front of the net in the 79th minute assisted by McCarter.

“Not that we just scored four goals, but they were really nice goals,” Patberg said. “Some of the buildups and some of the possessions, splitting the back line and the runs that we had were great. … Now we just need to be consistent.”

The victory over Thomas More will give the team confidence moving forward, Phaneuf said.

“[The win] definitely gives us a mood booster for going into practice this week and focusing on our next game,” Phaneuf said.

The Eagles are set to play on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at home against state rival Piedmont College (Ga.) before going on the road to Huntingdon College (Ala.) on Sept. 23.

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Ryan Callahan (he/him) (22C) is from Richboro, Pennsylvania, majoring in philosophy, politics, and law. Callahan previously served as a managing editor, the Wheel's sports editor and is also the co-president of Emory's Pre-Law Society. He is currently an English tutor at Ringle, and previously interned for his state representative and district attorney. If he's not at Kaldi's, you can catch him complaining about the Sixers or replaying the Batman: Arkham games.