The Shoremen lose to both Ursinus College and Muhlenberg College while the Shorewomen pick up one conference win
By Louis Galdos
Elm Staff Writer
This week for Washington College Athletics, both the Shoremen and Shorewomen played in their last two Centennial Conference soccer games of the season.
The Shorewomen played against Ursinus College on Wednesday, Oct. 30 and won 1-0. They next played against Muhlenberg on Saturday, Nov. 2 and lost 3-0. The Shoremen played against Swarthmore on Wednesday, Oct. 30 and lost a close game with a score of 2-1. Then, they played against Muhlenberg on Saturday, Nov. 2 and lost 2-1.
The Shorewomen took on Ursinus at Roy Kirby Jr. stadium. It was a very close game, but, the Shorewomen were able to overcome Ursinus and score the first and only goal in the minute 64 of the second half.
The Shorewomen had 12 overall shots with six on the goal. Ursinus had six overall shots with three on goal.
Junior goalie Annalie Buscarino discussed the team’s approach on Wednesday’s game.
“We finally earned the break we needed in terms of goal-scoring and were looking forward to maintaining that level of play when we stepped on to the field against a conference opponent. I was glad to be able to contribute a shutout to my team’s last seasonal home game, especially considering it was the last one ever for some of our closest friends. I think the sentiment of that finality is what inspired us to secure a win on Wednesday,” Buscarino said.
Senior defender Maia Duval also discussed the team’s preparation for Wednesday’s game.
“Two days before the game our coach, gave the team the info we need to prepare and play against Ursinus College. We worked hard in practice which translated over to the game. Personally, I like to watch film of the team we’re playing and tell our defenders about Ursinus’ forward who only shoots with her left or tell the forwards that the goalie has trouble diving so the shots need to be on the ground. I like to be as informed as I can be in order to help out team bring home a win and make history,” Duvall said.
On this same day, the Shoremen travelled to Swarthmore College for some Centennial Conference action.
The game was very closely competed, however, Swarthmore was able to finish the game and win 2-1.
The scoring did not come until the second half. Swarthmore started the scoring in the minute 46 of the second half. Then the Shoremen responded with a goal in the minute 53. However, Swarthmore responded with the final goal in the minute 59 and were able to hold the lead.
Senior defender Sean Garin discussed the Shoremen’s preparation going up against Swarthmore.
“Going into the game we knew they were a good team, so we were preparing for their defense and their fast forwards. We know we could play at their level, so we wanted to move the ball well on offense,” Garin said.
Next, the Shoremen played their final game on Saturday, Oct. 30 versus Muhlenberg College. In this game, the Shoremen travelled to Allentown, P.A. to take on the Mules for a final Centennial Conference match. In this game, the Mules were able to escape the Shoremen with a final score of 2-1.
Garin discusses the team’s approach and mindset for the final game.
“We weren’t in playoff contention anymore, so we wanted to have a good game and have some fun, while at the same time competing hard and still aiming for a win,” said Garin.
The Shorewomen also took on Muhlenberg on Saturday in Allentown, P.A.
In this game, the Mules were able to win 3-0. The Shorewomen had five total shots with three on goal. The Mules had nine total shots with eight on goal.
Head Coach Tom Reilly discussed the team’s overall approach and preparation for the games.
“We set up for Ursinus thinking we would have a fair amount of the possession, so we concentrated on breaking down their compact defense with quick combination play & positive player rotation/movement. We were able to create some dangerous chances throughout the game and that pressure paid off with our goal in the second half. As we have all year, we take each opponent as a separate challenge, so we approached this game as another chance to get points in the Centennial Conference. We had also lost to Ursinus the previous two seasons so wanted to get a result in 2019,” Coach Reilly said.
The men’s soccer team will finish with an overall record of 7-9-1 and a conference record of 1-7-1, effectively leaving them out of Centennial Conference championship play.
The women’s soccer team will finish their season with an overall record of 6-8-3 and a conference record of 2-6-2, also leaving them ineligible for post-season play.