The Emory women’s soccer team bounced back after suffering their first loss of the season last week, defeating the University of Lynchburg (Va.) Hornets 3-2 in a double-overtime victory on Sept. 14 and crushing the Mount St. Joseph University (Ohio) Lions 5-0 on Sept. 15.
The Eagles flew in hot against Lynchburg with an aggressive and fast-paced offense. In the 20th minute, senior forward Shivani Beall scored off a rebound, after senior defender Paige Santee’s shot hit the crossbar, putting the Eagles ahead 1-0. The Eagles kept their foot on the pedal, and sophomore midfielder Arielle Williamson scored off a free kick just a few minutes later to take a 2-0 lead.
Although the Eagles led going into halftime, the Hornets came out with a vengeance in the second half. In the 49th minute, Lynchburg senior forward Alyssa Rudy nailed a shot into the back of the net, almost evening the score. Rudy played aggressively the entire match, which resulted in a yellow card in the 60th minute after she pushed another player.
As the second half wrapped up, the Eagles anticipated victory. But, with one minute left in the match, the referee called a foul on Emory in the box, giving the Hornets an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty kick. Lynchburg sophomore midfielder Amanda Wigboldy took the shot and drove the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal past senior goalkeeper Haley Pratt.
Head Coach Sue Patberg noted how the team’s missed chances and defensive mistakes influenced the flow of the game.
“I think if we had scored a third goal, the second half may have looked differently,” Patberg said. “Lynchburg changed their system, and it took us awhile to adapt to the game. We also made some defensive errors that cost us two goals and led to the overtime.”
The Eagles and Hornets found themselves tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. In the first overtime period, both teams failed to put the ball in the net. During the second overtime, Williamson found senior forward Caroline Kolski at the top of the box, and Kolski powered the ball through traffic and into the goal, taking the win against the Hornets.
The next day, the Eagles carried their momentum into their second match of the weekend against the Lions. Within the first 17 minutes of the game, the Eagles already led 3-0.
Beall scored the first goal at the 12-minute mark, followed shortly by a header from freshman defender Peyton Robertson. Freshman forward Aubrey Blanchard then took advantage of a mistake from the Lions defense, putting the Eagles up 3-0. With eight minutes remaining in the first half, junior forward Caroline Moore assisted freshman forward Natalie Klar for the Eagles’ fourth goal.
The Eagles’ powerful offense and sound defense became unstoppable, and Blanchard tacked on another goal halfway through the second half. The Eagles finished the match with a 5-0 win.
While it was a long weekend for the Eagles, Beall noted how the team remained resilient and consistent throughout.
“This weekend was physically taxing on us,” Beall said. “We were definitely tired, but I think we did a good job of pulling it together, sticking it out and coming in strong even though we were pretty beat.”
The Eagles will hit the road to take on Maryville College (Tenn.) on Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.
