Women’s soccer return home after a solid 1-1 weekend against the University of Chicago Maroons and the Washington University in St. Louis Bears.
Friday’s game was an impressive 3-1 win over the Chicago Maroons, previously ranked No. 11 according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
‘We really came together as a team and realized what our potential could be this season,” junior forward Bridgette Varin said.
Varin notched two goals in the win, both after halftime.
Defender Kaitlin Meyer scored first for Chicago 13 minutes in. UR responded off a corner kick when midfielder Mae Butler punched one into the net, tying the game 1-1 right before the half.
According to Varin, that was a ‘game-changing play,” giving the team great momentum to start the second half off on the right footing.
The second half was all UR, with Varin driving in two goals, both assisted by sophomore forward Ellen Coleman.
On Sunday, the ‘Jackets played WashU in an extremely close match, with UR losing 1-2 after a sudden-death overtime. The Bears scored in the first 18 minutes of the game.
Senior midfielder Erin Carballo answered for UR two minutes later with a shot driven into the top corner of the net. The score remained tied at 1-1 throughout the match, forcing overtime. The defense played strong and senior goalkeeper Celeste Hornbach made five saves for UR.
The attack had many scoring opportunities, aiming several strong shots on net, including Coleman hitting the crossbar.
‘We had some definite chances to break the 1-1 tie… We just didn’t capitalize on our chances,” Varin said.
WashU scored five minutes into the sudden death overtime to win, 2-1, ending the Yellowjackets’ five-game winning streak. This was the ‘Jackets’ first loss in the UAAs and brought their overall record to 9-2-3.
The team is currently preparing for its upcoming games against St. John Fisher College and Rochester Institute of Technology.
‘Our next two games… are important regional games that we really need to win,” Coleman said.
If the ‘Jackets continue the strong play from last weekend, it’ll likely happen.
‘We are peaking at the right time in our season, and I think we will only continue to improve,” Varin said.
The women will be taking a step back after Sunday’s game, with a combination of resting up and practicing intensely to bounce back for the next game.
‘We are definitely going to come out hard against Fisher,” Varin said. ‘ I don’t think they’re going to be ready for what is coming at them.”
DeFilippo is a member of the class of 2011.
