Last week, the Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team fought hard and persevered on the road against their University Athletic Association (UAA) rivals, University of Rochester and Emory University.

But, ultimately they suffered setbacks with consecutive 2-1 defeats on Friday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 28.

The Spartans set the tone against Rochester. In the 10th minute, third-year forward Kimberly Chen scored via a free kick from 19 yards out to put CWRU on top. This lead would remain intact until the end of the first half.

However, it would be erased in the middle of the second half. Yellowjackets’ third-year forward Jorie Freitag placed a header into the back of the net on a free kick pass from second-year defensive back Meghan Martin in the 73rd minute to tie the score.

Rochester would net the game-winning goal in the 81st minute when fourth-year midfielder Margaret Lee hit a shot from 14 yards out off of an assist from first-year forward Carolyn Richards.

Against Emory, the Spartans played from behind.

In the 28th minute, Emory first-year midfielder Lindsey Breskow scored a long shot into the opposite corner of the net.

Four minutes later, third-year forward Shivani Beall would extend the lead to two with a goal, assisted by first-year midfielder Arielle Williamson and second-year midfielder Samantha Hilsee.

Emory would hold the lead until CWRU tried to rally back. In the 87th minute, first-year forward Christina Hickson sent a pass to second-year midfielder Lizzy Barna, who got the shot off past the goalkeeper to bring the deficit to one.   

CWRU tried to score in the final few minutes, but were unable to. The Spartans finished the week with two losses, bringing their overall record to 7-9 and UAA record to 0-6.

The team will close out the 2018 season with a road matchup against conference-rival Carnegie Mellon University.

“Carnegie Mellon is similar to us. They’ve had a lot of injuries and had to change starting line-ups and style of play as the season has progressed, much like we have as well. It’s hard to get momentum in our league if you go through this type of adversity since the league is so strong,” Head Coach Tiffany Crooks said.

“I think they are a very similar team to us right now in style of play. So, this week we will focus mostly on us … our style of play, our confidence on the ball and in front of goal. I’m really excited for the game on Saturday. I think we have a wonderful opportunity to set a tone for ourselves heading into the offseason.”