The Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team had an up-and-down weekend, falling 4-0 to Emory University, but capping off the weekend with a draw against the University of Rochester, 1-1 in double overtime. The Spartans are now 5-5-4 overall on the season, with a 0-2-2 record in the University Athletic Association (UAA).

In the first matchup of the weekend, the Spartans fell 4-0 to the Emory University Eagles. The Spartans were outmatched from the start, falling behind 2-0 early in the half thanks to Eagles’ goals in the 5th and 14th minutes.

Despite an opportune moment in the 25th minute when Spartan first-year forward Kimberly Chen kicked a shot that hit the post, there was almost nothing the Spartans could do. Before the first half ended, the Eagles found the back of the net two more times, in the 20th and 39th minutes, pushing their lead to four in the half. The Spartans were outshot 19-8 in the contest, including 14-5 in the first half.

In the second game of the weekend, the Spartans battled to a grueling draw in double overtime against Rochester University.

The Spartans got on track early, scoring a goal in the 6th minute thanks to third-year midfielder Neha Cheemalavagu’s third goal of the season. On the goal, Spartan second-year midfielder Melanie Kukura and fourth-year forward Amy Lindbergh each registered an assist.

It was good to see the Spartans score first and early on after their inability to score in their previous contest. The score was evened by the Yellowjackets in the 13th minute, however, as the first half ended in a tie.

The defenses took over after that point, with neither team being able to find the back of the net for both the second half of the game and both overtime periods. Third-year goalkeeper Sarah Newcomb played the entirety of the game registering five total saves in the contest.

The Spartans played a much better game offensively, putting up an incredible 26 shots, with 11 of them being on goal. That was compared to only 13 total shots from Rochester. When asked about her team’s revised offensive strategy, Head Coach Tiffany Crooks said, “We changed a few things up in the second half of the Emory game and found immediate success….At Rochester, we played the way we did in the second half of the Emory game and fought very hard.”

The Spartans played a scrappy game, registering nine total fouls in the contest. Despite their aggressive play, they did a good job not committing any penalties .

The Spartans will not play a UAA game next week, instead playing one contest Saturday, Oct. 22nd against the College of Wooster. When asked about the upcoming game, Crooks said, “We are a very good team.  We’re excited to go to Wooster and compete.” The Spartans resume conference play Oct. 28th against University of Chicago, which is also Senior Day.