Just one week after routing Case Western Reserve University, 5-0, to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament, the UR women’s soccer team hit a snag in the first round of postseason play The ‘Jackets traveled to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on the Roger Williams College Hawks on Saturday and were upended by the Hawks, 1-0, despite holding a 33-7 shot advantage.
The game-time conditions were anything but ideal. It poured throughout the 90 minutes of play, and Ithaca’s grass field took a beating by the end of the match, the pitch was a mud pit.
Roger Williams’s Laurin Pendleton scored the game’s lone goal in the 12th minute of play, blasting a shot past UR’s junior goalie Celeste Hornbach from 16 yards out. Hornbach finished the game with two saves.
At the time of the goal, the shot totals were knotted up at three apiece. In the remaining 78 minutes of play, the ‘Jackets dominated the field, limiting the Hawks to just four shots while amounting 30 of their own. Senior forward Laura Bojko totaled a team-high six shots but was unable to put one past Roger Williams’s keeper Jen Garside, who finished the game with 11 saves.
UR also held a 14-2 corner kick advantage over its opponents, but the Hawks were able to hold on, outlasting the ‘Jackets and advancing to second-round play with the win.
The loss ended a Yellowjacket season that featured a number of individual and team highlights. After losing their first game of the season to Messiah College, the ‘Jackets went on a 10-game unbeaten streak that included an impressive win over Union College, who at the time was ranked No. 11 nationally, according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. UR also qualified for the NCAA tournament for the 16th time in the program’s history.
Additionally, six UR players received All-University Athletic Association honors this past week. Freshman forward Ellen Coleman, who paced UR with 26 points this season, was named Rookie of the Year and earned First Team All-UAA recognition. Sophomore Bridgette Varin, senior defender Kelsey Turley and Bojko raked in Second Team honors, and Hornbach and junior defender Eileen Boylan earned Honorable Mentions.
Varin led the team in goals with 11, and Coleman was the ‘Jackets’ assist leader, totaling eight. Hornbach allowed an average of 0.88 goals per game and registered five shutouts.
UR finished the season with an 11-5-2 overall record.
Hilfinger is a member of the class of 2010.
