The GW women’s soccer team weathered a flurry of offensive pressure early in the second half and got a goal from senior Kim Warner to beat visiting Creighton University Sunday, 1-0. The victory came on the heels of a scoreless double overtime draw to Richmond on Friday in the Colonials’ first conference game of the season.
The win and draw, both at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex, extended GW’s home-unbeaten streak to 11 games, stretching back to October 2001. The Colonials improved their record to 6-1-2 on the season, marking the best start in program history.
GW Head Coach Tanya Vogel credited her team’s success this weekend to her platoon of defenders.
“A lot of praise has to go to our (defensive) backs,” she said. “Lindsey Bruno, Caite Terranova, Christine Jodrie, Molly Eckert and Kelly Lawton – they got two shutouts this weekend in front of two different goalkeepers, which is very hard to do. They really kept us together, and right now they are what’s holding this team together.”
The victory over Creighton (5-3-2) came against a hot Jays team. After a slow start to its season, Creighton started to look like the team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year, winning four straight games prior to the match at Mount Vernon. But the Colonials shut the Jays down, dominating play in both halves.
Despite its superior play, GW could not score in the first half. The Colonials’ best chances came from sophomore midfielder Ina Kaine, who twice shot from long range after good individual efforts, but both shots were saved easily. Creighton’s best chance in the first half came on a bending shot from midfielder Katie Heitke that rattled the GW crossbar.
The Jays’ offense came out strong at the start of the second half, putting intense pressure on the GW defense for almost eight minutes. Creighton got off six shots during the span but could not score.
The Jays’ momentum ended quickly in the 53rd minute when a pass from Kaine sprung Warner, who easily beat the keeper to net her eighth goal of the season. Warner now leads the A-10 in both goals and points with eight and 18, respectively. The assist was Kaine’s third of the year.
The Jays could never break through during the final 40 minutes against a composed GW backfield and the Colonials closed out the win to maintain their home-unbeaten streak.
GW’s second tie of the year came in a hard fought battle with last season’s A-10 champs. Richmond, who also made it to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA Tournament last year, has had a rough start to this season as they entered Friday with a record of 1-4-1. Still, the Colonials expected a tough game.
“Richmond is an extremely respectable team,” Vogel said. “All their losses have come against Top 20 teams, so you’re talking about a high quality team.”
In a game that saw both teams upset with the officiating, Richmond and GW battled to a 0-0 draw. Vogel declined to comment on the referees but said that the team was slightly disappointed to come away with only a draw.
“We’re okay with a tie,” she said, “We are just going to move forward and focus on our games against UMass and Rhode Island.”
The Colonials play Massachusetts Friday at 4 p.m. and Rhode Island Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games are at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex.
