Learning through the struggle
September 1, 2014
Women’s soccer (1-2) come up empty in their home opener against Virginia Tech by a score of 3-0.
“This was the fourth ranked team in the nation. A lot of people have them picked to contend for the championship,” head coach Vernon Croft said. “We played well and organized for only having three returning starters, I am super proud of them. They committed to each other and did everything that we asked of them throughout the week.”
Against the fast-scoring Virginia Tech team the Zips played more to the defensive side, not allowing a score until the last remaining minutes of the first half. The goalkeepers, junior Klare Adee and senior Alex Luevano-Harden, fought all night against 25 total shots and seven corners while also saving six goals.
However, the Zips still had offense as senior forward Lani Smith had four shots, one of which was a goal. Through the second half the Zips would also place sophomore Karin Norman and junior Sydney Blomquist on the offense side to go along with the attacking Smith.
“I think the biggest thing to look for from this team is to see how we will respond. Last week we were at Pittsburgh and we lost to them 3-0 and we responded by going into Robert Morris and winning that game 1-2,” Croft said. “This game taught us something that we can build on through the season, also something that our kids can inspire to be. We were forced to think of the game quicker, so at the end of the night, a lot of good came out of tonight.”
The Zips will return to the road to face off against rival Cleveland State University on Tuesday Sept. 2.
