Bridgewater, Va.- The Bridgewater women’s soccer team defeated the Eagles of Mary Washington University by a score of 2-0 on Sept.19 and lost in the conference opener against the Generals of Washington and Lee by a score of 1-0 on Sept. 23.
9-19
Eagles Cruise to Victory Versus Mary Washington
Both sides got it going into the game as both teams had some early chances but were not able to get any shots off. It wasn’t until senior Hannah Nugent was able to force a turnover in Mary Washington’s end of the field. Nugent got the ball back and took a shot with her left foot that went into the top left corner of the goal giving the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
The Eagles had another chance off of a corner kick not long after. Senior Skyler Daum got a shot that hit a Mary Washington defender, but the ball came back to Daum and she took another shot that ended up being deflected out of bounds by a UMW defender giving the Eagles another corner kick. Off the corner kick, sophomore Zoe Webster took a shot but ended up wide of the goal.
The Eagles kept up the pressure as both senior Alicia Keo and first year Laura Narby both had shots but were not on goal. UMW got their first shot of the game coming from Kaitlyn Venzen but her shot was saved by senior Carlee Gaboury. In minute 18, Daum was able to force a turnover in Mary Washington’s end of the field. She then took a shot from outside the box and scored and gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
After the goal from Daum, UMW kept the ball for most of the rest of the game. UMW had a shot later on in the game as Gaboury tried to come out and scoop the ball, but Katherine King was there to step in and make the save with her body.
The Eagles coming out of halftime had another chance as Narby had a shot but put it wide of the goal. The rest of the second half it was all Eagles as they outshot UMW by nine total shots and cruised to a 2-0 win.
9-23
Eagles Lose to Generals in Conference Opener
The Eagles had the first chance of the game as Keo had a shot on goal in the opening stages of the game, but Sydney Smith was there to make the save. Not long after Narby had a chance as well, but Smith was there again to make the save to keep the game tied at zero.
The Generals applied the pressure as Brynn Bissinger took a shot heading to the upper part of the goal, but Gaboury was there to get a hand on it to push it over the goal. The Generals followed that up with a corner kick. Gaboury went to catch the ball that was played into the box, but Cameron Grainger was able to get to it before Gaboury got ahead and scored giving the Generals a 1-0 lead.
The Generals kept up the pressure after that as they got four shots off on goal with Gaboury making three big saves and King clearing one of the goaline. Coming out of halftime, the Generals picked up where they left off. The Generals got many shots off but only one making it on goal. Gaboury was there to make the save on the shot that was on goal. The Eagles looked to respond on a counter attack but Keo shot wide right. In minute 58, Daum had a shot that was blocked but Narby was there to follow up with a shot on goal that was saved by Smith.
In minute 70, the Eagles were able to get a corner kick. Nugent was there to get her head on the ball as it came in from the corner, but her shot flew just over the goal. The Generals came back down after that, getting a corner. After the cross was played, the ball ended up bouncing around inside of the box where sophomore Kendall Garza failed to clear the ball. The Generals were able to get a shot off the failed clearance but Gaboury was there to make the save.
The Eagles, with just under a minute left in the game had a chance to tie it up as junior Anna Zurlo was fouled and gave the Eagles a free kick. Keo sent a ball into the goal but was cleared away by the Generals, giving them a 1-0 win.
