Soccer: men eliminated, women advance to CAC championship

By MIKEY BARNES

As the sound of the end of regulation came, the University of Mary Washington men’s soccer team headed to overtime against rival and Capital Athletic Conference first round opponent Christopher Newport University.

Shots coming from two CNU players go either wide or high of the goal post, as sophomore goalie Matt Spencer does his best to defend the net.

Sophomore Ben Cisse puts up a shot for Mary Washington, but it too goes wide. One remaining shot for CNU, stopped by Spencer, ended the excitement for the remainder of the overtime.

In the second half, similar results or therefore lack of, were put into motion as sophomore Charlie Charlie Montano attempted a shot with a header. The ball went straight into the hands of the opponent’s goalie.

Two more shots by CNU soared, once again high and wide, still unable to find the net for either team. Following the second overtime, a shootout for the two teams began. Cisse opened up the shootout, as he netted one passed the CNU keeper, this giving UMW a 1-0 shootout lead.

CNU tied it up at one apiece, as Spencer was unable to stop the next shot.

Sophomore Jack Nelson was the first to miss their shot, as the CNU goalie received a save on the attempt. CNU took the lead on their next attempt, putting them up 2-1. It then went back and forth, as sophomore Colin Travis scored and as did freshman Gary Foley, to knot it up at 3-3. A miss for CNU and then a goal by junior Jacob Burke put the Eagle’s up in overtime.

With the goal by Burke, the following four attempts by each time were made, placing the two teams at 7-7. Freshman Ryan Van Maanen was stopped on his attempt by the CNU goalie, which set up a trend for three attempts from each team following, either missing the net or receiving a stop from the opponent’s goalie.

Nelson ended the trend as he put one passed the CNU keeper and once again UMW regained the penalty kick lead. Again, CNU was ready as they matched Nelson and Spencer was unable to keep it out of the goal. Travis, stepped up to his spot behind the ball and yet again, found the net, giving the Eagles the lead.

Spencer was ready this time, prepared to make the stop and give his team the lead and the victory. He did not even have to, as the shot sailed high over the goal post to give the Eagles the victory over their rival and an advancement to the next round, as well as Spencer’s UMW record, 10th shutout of the season.

“I was on cloud 9. It all felt so unreal and the crowd made it feel so amazing as well as my teammates running at me screaming,” Spencer said, “In the shootout, my teammates stepped up to the penalty spot with confidence as well as believed in me to make a few big saves.”

With the victory, the UMW men’s soccer team improved to 12-5-2 on the season. Following their victory, the UMW men’s team took on Salisbury University in the CAC semifinals, who had beat Eagles 4-2 in their prior matchup.

The Salisbury Seagulls opened up the scoring, as just 4:33 minutes into the game, they snuck one passed Spencer to give them the early lead. The score remained 1-0 through the half, as neither team was able to muster up much after the goal.

Continuing their lead at 2:16 into the second half, Salisbury once again found an early goal, handing them a 2-0 lead. The Seagulls would not look back from there as the coasted to a 2-0 victory and a spot in the CAC championship game.

The UMW men’s team finishes their season at a 12-6-2 record, which leaves them tied with Salisbury for the most victories in the conference.

WOMENS SOCCER:

The UMW women’s soccer team had a similar lack of success during regulation, though the team mustered up seven shots to the Salisbury team.

Like the men’s team, the women’s soccer team was unable to find any success in either overtime phase. The timed scores and endless missing shots led the program into a shootout just like their male counterparts.

Salisbury opened up the penalty kicks with a miss, putting UMW in a good position with to take the lead, which they were unable to do on that shot as freshman Shannon Blackstone came up short. Back to back missed shots for the two programs, set neither team a disadvantage that being until the Salisbury player scored. Senior Leah Roth scored for the Eagles in her first attempt to tie things up at one shot apiece for the two teams, a tie that was broken immediately as Salisbury player missed her opening shot and freshman

Marsia Madaras took advantage and netted the goal to give the UMW the lead. A goal by freshman Kaitlyn Higgins secured the lead for the Eagles following the Salisbury make. The win for the Eagles gave them a first round victory and their record on the season improved to 9-8-2, as they prepared to face off against CNU in the CAC quarterfinals.

On Nov. 3, the UMW women’s soccer team traveled to Newport News to take on their rival, the CNU Captains. CNU on the season had boasted the best record in the conference up to this point and the Eagles had found themselves in the fifth seed at the end of the season.

In the opening parts of the game, CNU dominated on both the offensive and defensive ends, as they limited UMW to just two shots through the first 33 minutes, while they themselves had six shots attempts. This all changed 33:46 into the opening half of the game.

From twelve yards out, senior Michelle Gibbons found freshman leading goal scorer, Marisa Madaras on the pass. Madaras then took the pass, sent it to the left side, over the keepers head and into the goal for the 1-0 lead.

The teams went into the intermission at the half, with the score still at 1-0. It remained that way into the second half, as neither team was able to muster up a score, even though CNU’s offense overmatched the defense of UMW as they had 23 shots, compared to the five that the Eagles had.

The zero goals for the Captains, despite the 23 shots can be credited to freshman goalie Haley Randall and her seven saves in the net. With the victory, the Eagles improved to 10-8-2 on the season and will face off against the sixth seeded York College, who had upset the number two-seeded St. Mary’s of Maryland. UMW defeated York earlier in the season 2-1 and will look for similar success in their next matchup.