The women's soccer team opened their season in dramatic fashion, winning a showdown of nationally-ranked squads on Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 triumph over the Wheaton College (Mass.) Lyons. They followed with a thrilling 2-1 comeback over the University of Massachusetts-Boston Beacons on Monday.
It didn't take long for the second-ranked Eagles to get on the scoreboard on Sunday, as senior center mid-fielder Kelly Costopoulos knocked a shot past the Wheaton goalkeeper just eight minutes into the game.
The next goal didn't come until much later, when senior center mid-fielder Clare Mullins made it 2-0 in the 66th minute of play. Wheaton's Kaitlin Montoya trimmed the deficit to one a minute later with a goal of her own, but that was all the damage the Lyons would do on the night.
This goal on the Lyons was Mullins' eighth game-winning goal of her career, putting her in a tie for ninth on the schools all-time list.
Costopoulos is making a run at the record books as well. Her score on Sunday put her in eighth place in Emory history, with 21 career goals.
The Eagles earned the win over the No.16-ranked Lyons despite disadvantages in almost every major statistical category. Wheaton outshot Emory 20-8, including a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. The Eagles also were called for 13 fouls, compared to just four for Wheaton.
In the end, it came down to a couple of timely shots and some impressive goalkeeping from junior Gabrielle Pelura and sophomore Liz Arnold, who turned away two shots.
Monday's victory didn't come quite as easily. UMass Boston struck first in the 22nd minute of play when senior Tayla Andrews knocked a shot off an Eagles defender and into the net, putting the Beacons up 2-1 going into the intermission.
It took almost the entire game for the Eagles to answer. With just 10 minutes remaining, senior forward Veronica Romero sent a corner kick in front of the Beacons' goal and amazingly managed to regain possession of the ball before passing to freshman forward Cristina Ramirez, who headed it in for her first career collegiate goal. Both teams got shots on goal in the game's final minute, but both keepers managed saves and sent the game to overtime.
The first overtime period was scoreless, and the second may have been as well, had Romero not come up with another huge play. With just more than a minute remaining in the period, she sent a shot past the Beacons' sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Spain to give the Eagles the victory.
The Eagles narrowly avoided the UMB's upset bid, but they drastically outshot the Beacons by a 28-12 margin. The Eagles had 15 shots on goal to the Beacons' seven. The strong play of Spain, who had 13 saves, kept UMass Boston in the game. Both of Emory's goalkeepers notched three saves. The Eagles also had a remarkable eight corner kicks while the Beacons took zero.
It was an encouraging weekend for an Emory squad that has very realistic title aspirations. After falling in the finals of the NCAA Tournament last season, the Eagles have the eyes on winning the entire ball of wax in 2013. With the two wins, the team should retain its number two national ranking.
The Eagles will try to stay unbeaten on the year when they travel to Ithaca College (N.Y.) on Saturday, Sept. 7.
– By Ryan Smith
Photo by Christine Hines
