Women's soccer's Cinderella run falls short

By DAVID MERCER

After an unexpected run into the postseason, the University of Mary Washington’s women’s soccer team lost in the Capital Athletic Conference championship to Frostburg State on Saturday, Nov. 8.

After both teams went scoreless in the first half, the Eagles gave up two goals in the second and could not respond, sending themselves into the offseason on a sour note.

Despite their underdog status, the Eagles came into the game with a serious mindset and focused on one common goal: a CAC Championship.

“Everyone had high hopes of winning and continuing our season, but the loss will motivate us to work even harder to reach that goal and more next season,” said sophomore goalie Sara Armor.

The team is looking to use this as a boost to make them a better team all around. According to Armor, the Eagles feel that this one loss does not define them as a team.

UMW was riding an 8-1 home record as they entered the game, but was 4-6-2 on the road, where they spent the entirety of their CAC tournament run.

“I think we were so successful because of the team chemistry and how much heart everyone played with,” said freshman business major Taylor Decker. “I think I brought a lot of energy and a positive attitude to the team.”

Coming off the loss, the team is still hopeful about their future. The Eagles will lose substantial senior leadership due to graduation, but have more than enough youth and skill to compensate.

“I think we were successful in the end, but there was a lot of untapped potential so we could have been better,” said Maryfay Jackson, a sophomore psychology major.

Knowing that it could have been the seniors’ last game, the underclassmen on the team did all they could to earn one more game for their leaders.

“We played our hearts out for the seniors and we didn’t want that to be their last game, but the score didn’t show that,” Jackson said.

Despite coming up short in the championship game, the team did have an overall successful season. They finished with a 12-7-2 overall record and advanced to the CAC championship game as the bottom seed in the tournament, a feat only accomplished by few.

“I believe we were most successful when we were communicating well on the field and winning our individual battles,” Armor said.

Even with a team that has a lot of freshman and sophomores, the team clicked early and often and generated a special sense of chemistry, which helped to boost them to the CAC championship game.

The women are heading into the offseason motivated and ready to work hard so they can make it back to this position next year and capitalize on their opportunities.