The Cavaliers scored their first win of the season in the Colonial States Athletic Conference opener at Centenary College in New on Sept. 19.
The game was off to a good start when senior midfield player Kaitlyn Cooper scored the first goal after she received an assist from senior forward Meghan Martin. Then, three minutes into the second half, Centenary College scored their first goal putting both teams at a tie.
The players were anticipating an overtime game after attempts to get another goal were blocked.
“It was tough because we’re down a defender so midfield players had to transition to defense,” Jess Breunig, junior sweeper, said.
The ladies needed a new plan of action to get the goal that would claim the CSAC win, even though defense was low.
After losing a valuable teammate, Sam Penecale, sophomore back, to an injury the soccer team decided to make their roles more flexible on the field.
“It was hard in the beginning but we got better because of more communication and people started getting used to the new position they were playing,” Breunig said.
Penecale watched from the sidelines, hopeful that her team would pull together to get the win.
“We as a team, went around and answered the question ‘why do you play?’ and that question itself drove us to that win,” Penecale said. “When we were tied Dana [Peterson] screamed on the field ‘Why do we play!?’ and that drove us to that second goal.”
Their new plan of attack proved successful when Allie Vallen, junior forward, got her chance to score the winning goal with an assist from Brittany Runyen, sophomore midfielder.
“It felt awesome to be able to finally find the back of the net because we had so many opportunities to score throughout the game but we just weren’t able to capitalize,” Vallen said.
The determination in each player secured the win against Centenary College and a successful start to the CSAC matches.
“Never did I once think we couldn’t do it,” Penecale said. “To watch our team put their every ounce of energy into that last bit of the game to secure the season opener win has really set the tone for the rest of our games in the CSAC.”
