Women’s soccer records first loss of the season

The Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer team fell to the Lady Crusaders of host Capital University with a disappointing 0–3 result, marking the team’s first defeat of the season. Entering this weekend, the Tartans were ranked 22nd in the nation and fourth in the Great Lakes region, but Saturday’s result drops their record to 3–1–1.

The opening minutes proved crucial for Carnegie Mellon, as just two minutes in, an early goal set the Tartans back for the remainder of the game. Senior and co-captain Mary Ashe lost footing and took down a player just outside of the goalkeeper box, yet the referee awarded the Lady Crusaders with a penalty kick, which was finished to the right of sophomore goalkeeper Anya Rosen.

The rest of the game appeared to be an uphill struggle as the Tartans attempted to settle into the game.

Miscommunication in the defense led to a major breakdown and the game’s second goal. Capital played a ball over the defense from 50 yards out, and senior and co-captain Sarah DeWath tried to head the ball out of the chaos and back to Rosen. Rosen was unable to catch the ball in time, and as the header sailed toward the back of the net, a Lady Crusader forward promptly finished it in the seventh minute.

Carnegie Mellon cranked up the offensive play in the waning minutes of the first half, with shots from sophomore forward Adrienne Pajer and corner kicks from sophomore Emily Overstreet, but to no avail, as halftime left the team down by two.

A Capital free kick was cleared but boggled by the Tartan defense in the 62nd minute, affording another shot at Rosen for the Lady Crusaders. Rosen drove for the ball and collided with an opposing forward, laying motionless on the grass until the clock was stopped for the trainers to step onto the field to evaluate the injury. Rosen resumed play moments later.

Another collision left the Tartans shaken up as DeWath was fouled in the 67th minute and taken off of the field. She came back in soon after for an immediate effect, slamming a header off of a corner just to the left of the goal frame.

In the 88th minute, Capital had the ball in the middle and Rosen came out to grab it but was taken down for a Tartan free kick. In the final minute, the Lady Crusaders weaved the ball in between the Carnegie Mellon defense, with the final touch from 12 yards out, slightly bent to the right of Rosen, to tally Capital’s third goal of the game.

“Capital is a good team. They took it to us from the first whistle. I was disappointed in how we came out and it was a case of too little, too late,” said head coach Sue Willard.
One of the strongest aspects of the team’s play is set pieces, but unfortunately, none of the Tartans’ nine free kicks nor five corners hit the back netting. Rosen made a total of six saves, whereas the Lady Crusader goalkeeper made five.

“I hope if we can take anything from this game, it’s the facts. We were shut out and scored on three times,” Rosen said. “We are a good team, but we are far from invincible.”

Carnegie Mellon will next compete against 12th-ranked Denison University in Granville, Ohio Saturday at 1 p.m. Last season, the Tartans sent Denison home with a 1–0 defeat, a game the Big Reds will not have forgotten.

“Hopefully we will learn from our mistakes and have a good result against Denison,” Willard said.