Women’s Soccer Trounced by Williams

By Josh Krinsky
Contributing Writer

The women’s soccer team knew it had a tough task when it traveled to Williams for a match on Saturday. The team’s expectations were met full force. Powerhouse Williams scored twice in the first half and once more in the second to defeat Wesleyan 3-0.

Despite the final result, the Cardinals put together one of their best efforts of the young season. They played extremely well together and stayed even with Williams. The only difference was Wesleyan’s inability to finish on offense.

"The team was extremely pleased with the way we played," said tri-captain Kali Tomlin ’00. "We really played as a team. The offense clicked, the defense clicked, Williams just knew how to finish. We made huge strides."

Wesleyan played Williams close in the second half. The Cardinals moved the ball up the field very effectively and generated some good scoring chances. The Williams goalie made some tremendous saves, stopping potential goals that would have turned the game around. Williams was only able to put the Cardinals away with their third goal deep into the second half.

"The girls should be really proud," said Head Coach Jeff Vagell. "In the first half we made a few defensive mistakes stemming from a lack of communication, but in the second half we shut Williams down which is quite an impressive accomplishment. A few bounces here and there and it would’ve been a totally different game."

The game did a lot for the team’s confidence, proving that they could play with a tough team like Williams.

"If anything the game made us more pumped and excited to keep working," said Erin Flaherty ’01, after an upbeat practice on Monday.

The loss did nothing to appease the concerns over goal scoring. Some of the forwards are very young, and this lack of experience could be contributing to the team’s scoring woes.

"You’ve got to be a little concerned," Vagell said. "We’re lacking offensive consistency, but the talent is there and we will keep working on it."

Saturday’s loss dropped the team to a somewhat disappointing 2-3 on the season, but players and coaches alike remain optimistic.

"We should beat the rest of the teams in the league if we play as well as we did at Williams," Flaherty said. "We’re also very young so we should get even better."

In Monday’s practice, Vagell placed added emphasis on offense with more shooting and drills.

"We’re teaching and they are learning and having fun," said Vagell in reference to his team. He went on to echo Flaherty’s optimism. "We’ve got talent and we’re playing soccer the right way. The winning will take care of itself."

The team will get a chance to take care of that on Thursday against Smith.

"Last year we went up there overconfident and sluggish, and they pounded us all over the field," Vagell said. "Now we got them at home and are going to get some payback. The girls remember last year and that won’t happen again."