The Emory women’s soccer team increased their win streak to three when they shut out Maryville College (Tenn.) 2-0 on Sept 21. On Sept. 24, the Eagles brought in yet another win when they conquered No. 25 Covenant College (Ga.) 6-0 in a match where Emory outshot their opponent by 25.
The Eagles dominated offensively against Maryville, recording 34 shots in the game with 14 on goal. The first goal came early in the first half from a set piece courtesy of senior forward Caroline Kolski. The ball found the back of the net in the 13th minute after a timely header by Kolski off of a free kick by freshman defender Peyton Robertson.
The second half opened with another Emory goal in the 51st minute when freshman forward Natalie Klar slotted home a loose ball from a corner kick by senior forward Shivani Beall. Emory defense managed to see out the rest of the game without conceding a goal, while the offense created more opportunities to score, hitting the post several times but failing to add to their lead.
Head Coach Sue Patberg thought the team’s overall performance and many scoring opportunities were important but stressed that the team still has room to improve.
“We are pleased that we won, pleased that we had a shutout, but not completely satisfied,” Patberg said. “A lot of goals [were] left on the field. This seems to be something that we’re working through. We have a lot of talent and ability, and we are able to create good chances and shots on goal. It’s terrific, but the next step is putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Freshman forward Aubrey Blanchard was encouraged by the win but echoed Patberg’s concerns about leaving many opportunities to score on the field.
“[It was] good to get a win, but we weren’t completely satisfied,” Blanchard said. “[We have] lots of things to work on and capitalize on. We need to make our shots count.”
The Eagles continued their successful streak with a 6-0 win over Covenant on Sept. 24 in Lookout Mountain, Ga. The team improved their attacking, recording 28 shots taken and 17 on goal. The six goals scored are Emory’s most in a single game this season, and the win is the largest margin of victory on the season. Defensive prowess was yet again a strong point as the Eagles limited Covenant to just three shots, and senior goalkeeper Haley Pratt only had to make two saves.
Sophomore midfielder Lindsey Breskow opened the scoring in the third minute after a rebound off of a Covenant defender. Klar netted her team-leading fourth goal of the season in the 37th minute, chipping it over the opposition’s keeper from long distance.
The Eagles took off in the second half, scoring four goals and conceding none. Senior defender Paige Santee found the back of the net in the 56th minute after Beall’s pass. Emory later went on to score two goals in two minutes in the 75th and 76th minutes, with Kolski assisting freshman forward Sydney Rosenkrantz and freshman forward Kylie Hall finding the back of the net after a pass from sophomore midfielder Arielle Williamson.
The Emory women topped off a fantastic performance with another goal from Rosenkrantz in the 89th minute, after she beat her defender and slotted it into the far corner.
Blanchard pointed to the intensity of the team’s busy practice schedule as one of the reasons for the team’s strong performance.
“You have to be present mentally, physically and emotionally and treat each practice as if it’s the last practice,” Blanchard said. “Not all teams can do that, but when they do, that’s when they go on to do great things.”
The away wins brought the Eagles their fifth win of the season, with one loss in addition to their third consecutive clean sheet after they swept Mount St. Joseph University (Ohio) 5-0 on Sept. 15.
The Eagles return to action in Atlanta to take on Centre College (Ky.) on Sept. 28 at 1:00 p.m.
