Since our last publication, the women’s soccer team has played two games, one of which was their first in-conference game of the season. These games were unfortunately the Judges’ first losses this season.
Their first game of this past week was on Saturday, Sept. 30 against the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans who also had an undefeated record going into this game. The Tartans are also ranked first in Division III National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rankings per the coach’s polls thus far for the 2023 soccer season. The first half of the game was fairly uneventful for the Judges as the Tartans outshot them 6-0. Though the keeper for the Judges, Hannah Bassan ’25, had a strong showing for the majority of the first half, she did not save a shot in the 40th minute. This was the first and only goal scored during this game. The play leading up to this goal was complex, leaving Bassan unable to intercept the ball headed toward the near post. Though they did not score during the game, the Judges had a much more aggressive showing during the second half as they outshot the Tartans 7-6. The game concluded with some promising shots in the remainder of the second half but ultimately concluded with Carnegie Mellon University winning 1-0 against the Judges women’s soccer team. The Judges have lost all four of their past games against the Tartans and look forward to meeting again to hopefully capture a win and improve their record.
On the following Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Judges hosted yet another unbeaten opponent, the University of Southern Maine (USM) Huskies. Coming in ranked #22 against the unranked USM Huskies, the Judges were hopeful of capturing another win, yet they were unsuccessful for the second game in a row. The beginning of this game was exciting for USM with the first and only goal of the game being scored by them in the fifth minute. The Judges were successful in outshooting the Huskies in both halves, 8-6 and 11-4, though they were unable to find the back of the USM net. The Judges’ most promising shots on goal came with less than five minutes left in the game. The first was a header-shot from Sydney Lenhart ’24 who received the ball off of a cross from Abby Kenkelen ’27, though it was just high. The second was only a few seconds later, which was a shot by Kenkelen that also narrowly missed the net.
Looking ahead, the women’s soccer team will have their first away University Athletic Association (UAA) game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 7 at Washington University in St. Louis.
