By Alexandra Parado
Sports Editor
The women’s soccer team faced two opponents last week: Johns Hopkins University and Rutgers University-Newark. The Lions fell to Johns Hopkins 1-0, but prevailed against Rutgers-Newark, 4-2. Their undefeated record has been changed and they now hold a record of 3-1.
The Lions traveled to Baltimore, Maryland for a Wednesday night game on Sept. 12. In a matchup of top-10 teams, eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins shut out the College, which is ranked fourth by the NCAA for Division III sports.
Both teams struggled to score in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Johns Hopkins made efforts to score, and junior goalkeeper Nicole DiPasquale could only block two of the three shots she encountered. Toward the end of the half, freshman defender Jess Hall had an opportunity to score, but her shot was blocked by Johns Hopkins’ keeper. By the end of the first half, Johns Hopkins led 1-0.
The Lions put on an offensive outbreak in the second half attempting to tie the game. Hopkins defense made play after play to keep the Lions’ score at zero. Hall had a shot that rolled past the keeper but was blocked by a defender. After chasing and controlling the rebound, Hall took a second shot, this time blocked by the keeper.
The Lions tried to score in the second half of the game, but Hopkins’ defense was so absolute that the Lions were unable to score a goal. This unfortunate defeat was the result of strong defense.
The team bounced back from their loss and succeeded against Rutgers-Newark on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The Lions immediately came out strong as soon as the game started. It was evident that the goal that night was to leave the field as winners.
Shots were fired at the Rutgers-Newark keeper, and finally, sophomore forward Julianna Bertolino booted in the ball from 10 yards out. Bertolino was assisted by sophomore forward Julia Obst and freshman forward Randi Smith.
In the 37th minute, the Lions doubled their advantage 2-0. Freshman forward/midfielder Nikki Butler scored her first collegiate goal and shot the ball in the upper-right corner of the net.
The first period ended with a goal by Rutgers-Newark, which brought the score to 2-1.
The second half started just like the first one — the Lions were fired up and continued to send shots at Rutgers-Newark.
Butler gained her second goal of the season, scoring off of a feed from freshman midfielder Lauren McLaughlin. Shortly after, Smith determinedly scored her first collegiate goal after fighting through a pair of defenders.
With just minutes left in the game, Rutgers-Newark scored another goal but ran out of time to catch up to the Lions. The game concluded with a final score of 4-2.
After a week of traveling, the team hosts Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham in Lions Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 19. On Saturday, Sept. 22, they will travel to Mahwah, New Jersey to face Ramapo College.
