The Observer, October 19, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 8
Women's soccer drops two straight, losing to Emory, Carnegie Mellon
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Continuing the Spartans' slide in the UAA, the Case women's soccer team lost two games in three days to the Emory Eagles and Carnegie Mellon Tartans.
On Oct. 12 the Spartans were defeated by the top 10 -ranked (Div. III) Emory Eagles 2-0 after the men's game earlier that evening. The Eagles struck early with a goal off a corner kick in the seventh minute.
"We stuck with the 4-5-1 formation for this particular game and I still think of it as a positive experience because we were out there creating opportunities whether it be on free-kicks, corners, or just shots," said head coach Tiffany Crooks.
After the Eagles scored again in the 42nd minute, the Spartans held fast and did not relinquish a goal the entire second half. In goal for the Spartans were juniors Nikki Frankenstein and Kirsten McClain in the first and second halves, respectively.
"In the second half we just battled. It really says something about our program and our girls. They know they are a good team: we just have to prove it to ourselves about beating those top teams," said Crooks.
To make matters worse for the Spartans, injuries have recently plagued the team. Against Emory, junior Caroline Garber was out after a concussion during the previous night's practice. She was well enough for Sunday's game against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans.
"They didn't back down at all and really played the best they could. I can't emphasize how well the back four did also," said Crooks.
The other injury that the Spartans will continue to feel the rest of the season was the loss of leading scorer Amy Bishara to a head injury that took her out of the game in the 50th minute. She is likely to be out the rest of the season.
"It's hard, but we have to look at it as positively as we can. Now the other players have a chance to take a more assertive role. Some girls will get more minutes and be able to be in that leadership role. We are a very talented team and I'm grateful for that," said Crooks.
In a very evenly-matched game, the Spartans and Tartans traded possession of the ball for most of the game, neither team getting many quality shots on goal. In the 68th minute of the game, Valerie Corvino of the Tartans broke away with only a defender and McClain between her and goal. With such tight coverage, she managed a haphazard shot that found its way into goal via Kasey Stever for the only score of the game.
"The biggest thing I thought was the fact that we were both very tired teams with a lot of guts, digging in hard for every minute. Those sorts of goals are going to happen if anyone makes a tiny mistake and the ball bounces just the right way. It was a credit to them in such a close game," said Crooks.
Case next faces off at Kenyon College during the long weekend tomorrow.
