UR kept the ball rolling this week, coming back to defeat SUNY-Geneseo 4-3 and smashing Daemen College 8-0.
The women, now 6-0, are ranked number 16 nationally in Div. III soccer.
Early deficit
With three goals in six minutes, the women’s soccer team overcame an early deficit to defeat SUNY Geneseo 4-3, in an away game last Saturday to stay undefeated.
UR trailed Geneseo 2-0 early, but got on the scoreboard with a goal by junior Allison Collins. “Ali’s goal was the breaking point,” sophomore Portia Bridges said. “Our play started to fall into place after it; points on the scoreboard charged the team.”
“Giving up two goals early was a wake up call, and we played better after that,” said junior goalie Sarah Malecki.
Bridges followed with two goals 40 seconds apart to give the Yellowjackets a 3-2 lead at the half. After 40 minutes, the women dominated the game and “were able to settle down and play a more controlled game in the second half,”said sophomore Karen Forsythe.
The team pulled together to regulate the field and face the challenge of Geneseo.
“There was definitely high intensity because they [Geneseo] were our toughest opponent to date,” Forsythe said. “They put up a good fight, and the fact that we were down 2-0 in the first half and able to come back from a deficit showed a lot of character,” he said.
The women were already at a disadvantage, having lost Lindsay Riley to an injury, compelling the team to create new configurations. Alternating the positions and adapting to the loss was a “testament to how deep our roster is,” Forsythe said.
Despite this, Forsythe widened the gap between the teams with her goal early second half. Geneseo scored one last goal late in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. UR prevailed 4-3.
Although a perfect record is a coveted one, it presented additional challenges to the team. “Being undefeated is helpful in a way because you are in control, but it is scary in how teams begin to hunt for you and you become their goal and target,” Forsythe said.
On Tuesday night at Fauver Stadium, UR thoroughly dominated Daemen College 8-0. UAA player of the week Allison Collins netted a hat trick in the first half alone, en route to four goals and an assist for the game. Sophomore Kristin Kelley scored twice along with goals by Bridges and senior Meg Barritt.
The Yellowjackets next face hometown rival Rochester Institute of Technology Tuesday night at Fauver Stadium, at 7 P.M.
Josephson can be reached at ejosephson@campustimes.org.
