By Ty Corino
Elm Staff Writer
The 2024 fall season has officially hit the ground running, and the Shorewomen soccer players are ready to go. They have gotten off to a hot start on the season by taking down both Grove City College and Marymount University in their first two games, outscoring them a combined 6-2.
The adrenaline was pumping and tensions were rising as their rivals, Salisbury, were up next for them at Kibler Field at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. Salisbury was also coming into the game without a loss on their record, creating quite the atmosphere coming into the stadium.
“I feel like this team has so much potential. We are all playing some of our best soccer and I really think this could be women’s soccer’s year to make the playoffs,” sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Allen said.
The bout was no doubt going to be a constant pressure game from the start and as the game began the Shorewomen did not disappoint. Possession of the ball was mostly back and forth at the beginning of the first half. The Shorewomen had four attempted shots on goal, three of which were blocked by Salisbury junior goalie Riley Pinato.
While Sailsbury had two shots on goal in the first half, one was blocked by Allen and the other missed far right. The teams did not display a lot of action, but exhibited clean and aggressive play. Both teams made their way to the tunnel as half time reached with a 0-0 score.
With slow play in the first half, both teams had to keep focus on the game in front of them.
“Each player takes accountability to properly hydrate, fuel up, and seek treatment from our trainers. Mentally each individual on the team is working towards the same common goal, which is to make it to conference playoffs and win,” sophomore outside back Grace Morris said.“A huge mental strategy the team utilizes is taking on one game at a time and being present in the current game.”
The second half rolled around and the Shorewomen were right back at it. Within the first two minutes, Pinato made a huge save for Salisbury that would have been an even bigger goal for the Shorewomen as they tried to come out firing and be the first unit on the scoreboard.
Salisbury maintained possession for the first few minutes of the new half, but the Shorewomen were certainly not done backing down as Allen made huge back-to-back saves around the 55 minute mark. The goalkeeper additionally blocked a penalty kick shortly after. WC maintained the ball in Sailsbury’s territory side for the majority of the rest of the game but were unable to sneak in a game winning goal that they were striving for.
They had some potential opportunities off corner kicks and produced three fouls on the Sailsbury defense, which the team could not capitalize on. Sophomore forward and Elm Opinion editor Sophie Kilbride had some great possessions, takeovers, and battled for the ball every play.
The Shorewomen had an extremely close goal attempt by fifth year defender Amity Harrington that just grazed the top of the goal post that then went out of bounds.
“We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t find the winner at the end, because we had a true golden opportunity to. But they’re a great team, and it was a nonstop battle back and forth, so they’re probably a little grieved that they didn’t find the win and so are we. Tie was probably a fair result on the night,” Shorewomen head coach Tom Reilly said.
The goalkeeping play was critical for WC’s performance against the Seagulls, which Reilly was quick to point out.
“She commanded the box really well, which is something that she’s been really concentrating on in training. So her ability to come off the line and produce for us has been really great,” Reilly said.
The Shorewomen remain without a loss as they head into their next game against Hood College on Sept. 7. They have nothing but high expectations for the team and their performance as the season continues.
“I am very confident in their year’s team to be successful. We are off to a great start and I am very excited to see how the season turns out,” Morris said.