With the start of Atlantic 10 conference play only a week away, the GW women’s soccer team lost both its weekend games, falling below .500 for the first time this season. The Colonials were routed 5-0 by the University of Maryland Sunday, after a tough double-overtime loss at Towson University Thursday.

Maryland 5, GW 0
Sunday, Sept. 22

GW head coach Tanya Vogel predicted that Sunday’s game at Maryland would show her team’s true colors and indicate whether the Colonials are “up for the fight for the season.” Her team responded by losing 5-0 and getting outshot 34-4.

The Terrapins took an early lead when GW goalkeeper Christine O’Malley let Maryland’s Audra Poulin’s shot from 25 yards slip through her hands in the 17th minute.

The Colonials remained close with less than ten minutes left in the first half, but gave up two quick goals to fall behind 3-0 at the break. Maryland’s Ali Andrzejewski took a ball from Poulin to score at the 35:59 mark and less than four minutes later Kimmy Francis scored on a cross from Simone Dekker.

GW replaced O’Malley with freshman goalkeeper Kelly Paolucci to start the second half, but the result was more of the same. It took five minutes for Maryland to score in the second half, as Andrzejewski notched her second goal of the game for a 4-0 Terrapin lead. Melissa Anderson scored in the 74th minute to put GW, which managed only two second-half shots, even further out of contention.

The loss had to be especially disappointing for Vogel, who went up against her former coach and mentor Shannon Higgins-Cirovski. The Terrapins’ head coach was Vogel’s coach at GW when Vogel played for the Colonials, adding emotion to an already highly competitive game.

“It’s always an emotional game against Maryland,” Vogel said. “They’re our toughest competitors on the schedule.”

Towson 2, GW 1 (2 OT)
Thursday, Sept. 19

The Colonials lost a hard-fought double-overtime game to host Towson Thursday when the Tigers’ Mollie Merkel put the game-winning goal past GW goalkeeper Christine O’Malley in the 102nd minute. The Colonials, who fought back from a first-half deficit to tie the game in the 53rd minute, were just seven minutes away from holding off the Tigers and forcing a tie.

Vogel said that although she was pleased with her team’s effort in the second half and both overtimes, poor first-half play cost GW the game.

The Colonials managed only three shots in that first half to Towson’s six. Towson took a 1-0 lead when Martha Bielefield scored unassisted at the 30:20 mark, blasting a shot from 25 yards out.

GW came out stronger in the second half, tying the game shortly after halftime when junior forward Kim Warner tallied her fourth goal of the season.

“I’ve never had a day after a game where I’ve felt as crappy as I do today,” Vogel said Friday. “Anytime you work as hard as we did in the second half and you end up with a result like we did, it’s frustrating.”