After reaching the NCAA DIII championship match last season, the Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team is looking for redemption this fall and is off to a great start. The second-ranked Spartans came away with two wins this past weekend against John Carroll University and Ohio Northern University, taking a 2-0 record to start this campaign.
In the season opener at home, second-year Andrea Silva’s corner kick sent the ball to fellow second-year forward Maggie Farra who headed it into the goal to put CWRU up 1-0 in the 32nd minute of the half. Early in the second half, fourth-year midfielder/forward Helina VanBibber received a pass in the middle of the box from third-year defender Katie Rishel. VanBibber reached the ball before John Carroll’s defenders, quickly kicking it into the bottom corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.
John Carroll found a gap in the Spartans’ defense, cutting the score to 2-1 with a goal in the 82nd minute. But CWRU’s defense held on for the final eight minutes to come away with the win. The victory marked the 34th consecutive regular season non-conference match win, a streak that began in the 2018 season.
The Spartans overpowered John Carroll in the team statistics, going 19-5 in shots, 9-3 in shots on goal and 8-1 in corner kicks. Fourth-year goalkeeper Maggie Storti saved two shots en route to her first win of the season and a program record of 31 career wins as goalkeeper.
CWRU notched their first shutout of the season against Ohio Northern. The Spartans’ sole goal came in the 21st minute of the game, with third-year Carolyn Koutures heading in a corner kick from second-year forward Alexis Sassower for the 1-0 lead. Neither team could find the back of the net for the rest of the game, and the Spartans came away with the 1-0 victory to improve to 2-0-0 overall.
CWRU dominated again in shots (13-6), shots on goal (6-2) and corners (6-3). It was a rather physical match, with both teams combining for 19 fouls and seven yellow cards.
The Spartans extended their regular season non-conference match streak to 35 matches. Storti earned her 19th career shutout and needs just two more to equal the program record of 21 set by former Spartan Anna Kennedy in 2008-11.
CWRU will face fifth-ranked Misericordia University on Friday, Sept. 8 and Clarkson University on Sept. 10, both games being on the road in Dallas, Pennsylvania. The Spartans will return home for a game on DiSanto Field against Oberlin College on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
