The women’s soccer team saw their winning ways in the Atlantic 10 abruptly end this weekend, with losses against Dayton and Xavier dropping the Colonials to 1-2-0 in the conference.
Two Xavier goals early in the first half resigned GW to their second straight shutout loss at home Sunday.
The Colonials found themselves trailing only 13 minutes in, after junior Amber Silvis took advantage of a defensive miscue to put the ball in the back of a wide-open Colonials’ net. Xavier was not done, doubling their advantage just three minutes later with a long shot from senior Angie Scarlato that bounced off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
The rest of the match, GW took shot after shot in an effort to recover from the 2-0 deficit. The Colonials finished the match with 17 shots, which came from a total of 8 different players. The best of these chances came from senior Ashley Squires, who had three tremendous scoring opportunities throughout the match, all of which were saved by Musketeer goalkeeper Lindsey Cullings. The Xavier freshman finished the match with 9 saves.
Dayton 1, GW 0
Friday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of defending A-10 champion Dayton was played in a torrential rainstorm that seemed to worsen throughout the match, making the field at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex soggy, puddle-ridden and nearly unplayable.
The match also saw Colonials head coach Tanya Vogel experiment with players’ positions, a move Vogel said would “determine who needs to be on the field.” Senior captain Shari Taylor, listed as a defender, started the match as a forward, while midfielder Kerry Philbin and forward Kiki Colker both played in central defense.
The Flyers found themselves ahead before the worst of the weather started with a goal in the 29th minute. A long lob from Dayton’s Kristen Persichini from the center of the field found senior Reba Sedlacek all alone with goalkeeper Anna Handzlik. Though the Colonials’ keeper did well to get a palm to Sedlacek’s near-post effort, the ball still rolled into the back of the net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
The rain only got worse after the goal, to the point to where it seemed to seriously affect GW’s play. This was evident in the 31st minute, as freshman Allison Sylvetsky failed to get a good connection to freshman Keara Mehlert’s service into the box, with the ball floating right into the hands of Flyers keeper Niki Reed.
The second half saw GW valiantly try to level the scores, though the sloppy conditions prevented the Colonials from getting a quality shot on goal until five minutes from time. The effort from Squires was a good one, though Reed saved it to protect her shutout.
After the match, Vogel expressed satisfaction at the team’s play, especially in light of the weather.
“Even though the conditions were a little bit rough, you won’t hear our girls complaining about it,” Vogel said after the game. “They really did play some of their best soccer today.”
Vogel said her team was not quite as satisfied with the end result.
“We’re not happy with a 1-0 loss, even if it is the defending champs,” she said. “This team is looking for wins.”
The Colonials will look to reverse their A-10 fortunes Friday, when they play St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. The team will stay in the City of Brotherly Love over the weekend, as they also play a conference game against Temple on Sunday.
