The Emory women's soccer team, ranked second among NCAA Division III squads, lived up to its elite status over the weekend. The Eagles opened their home season and the weekend with a 9-0 victory over the Sewanee: University of the South (Tenn.) on Saturday afternoon and ended with a 1-1 tied game in double-overtime against Roanoke College (Va.) on Sunday. Both games were played at home.
"This season has started off great. We had some good results at the beginning of the season, like beating Messiah College [Pa.] who were last year's national champs. As a whole, we have really been working hard and playing well," said sophomore center midfielder Jennifer Grant.
On Saturday, junior center midfielder Clare Mullins set the stage with Emory's first goal at the 1:33 mark.
Sophomore forwards Emily Feldman and Karina Rodriguez were credited for the assist on Mullins' goal.
"It felt great being out there and playing hard as a team. We are feeling strong this season, and each and every one of us is going in ready to work hard and celebrate when that hard work pays off," said Mullins.
Mullins' goal was the 14th-fastest goal scored in the history of Emory's women's soccer program.
Rodriguez added a goal at 3:24, followed by junior co-captain center midfielder Kelly Costopoulos at 10:13, another by Rodriguez at 16:17, and three more goals to finish off the second half by freshman midfielder Jordan Morell at (28:08), senior forward Katy Kruse (39:05), Grant (40:21) and sophomore midfielder Meredith Doherty (41:25).
"The win on Saturday was really unexpected. We played good soccer; we were just not prepared to be eight goals up at half time. The University of the South usually gives us a better game This one was not as challenging as we had hoped it would be and set somewhat unrealistic expectations," Head Coach Sue Patberg said. "Still, it was a strong team effort, in every sense of the word 'team.'"
Junior forward Veronica Romero and senior center midfielder Lee Bachouros assisted with a collective five goals.
Romero came back to score the last of the nine goals in the second half of the game at 80:07. Romero currently leads all Eagles in assists for this season.
The win against The University of the South gave Patberg 99 victories during her eight years at Emory thus far.
With this win, the Eagles also extended their home-undefeated streak to 16 games.
The Eagles remained undefeated on Sunday in their contest against Roanoke.
The team walked out of the Woodruff P.E. Center pumped up and confident for their second game of the weekend.
Late in the second half of the game, Romero kept up her roll from Saturday with a game-tying goal at 60:41, a short five minutes after Roanoke scored.
Romero had two shots on frame during the first half, along with juniors Costopoulos, center midfielder Greta Jochmann, and defender Lauren Drosick, hitting one each.
"We need to focus on scoring more goals when we have the chances, but overall, we have really proved to ourselves how much we are capable of by competing with some of the top teams in the country," said Costopoulos.
The Eagles played some strong defense, notably a save by senior goalkeeper Kaele Leonard and an interception by sophomore forward Charlotte Butker, which regained possession.
The women kept Roanoke's goals at zero until late into the second half.
"The tie today was very frustrating. We had chances, but they did a good job shutting us down and not giving us great looks at the goal. It was a great win for them, and for us it felt disappointing," said Patberg.
Despite a number of solid attempts at shots on goal, the Eagles did not find the back of the net again in this game.
This looks to be a goal for the team in upcoming games.
"Teams will play us close like this throughout the whole season; it's part of having the ranking that we have. Teams make it tough to get in between them and behind them," Patberg said. "This is a challenge we have to take on. We need to figure out how to put balls in the back of the net."
The Eagles will play again on Friday, Sept. 21 against Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) at 7 p.m. at home. The women are looking to come back with a win in the third game of a six-game home stand.
By Nicola Braginsky
Eagles, Romero Dominate Sewanee
The women's soccer team played two games this weekend, defeating Sewanee by an amazing nine points and tying Roanoke College to remain undefeated on the season.
