It was an exhausting day for the Lawrence University women’s soccer team as the Vikings traveled to Waukesha to take on big-time conference rival Carroll University. The game resulted in a 0-0 tie after going into double overtime. Lawrence headed into Saturday’s game with previously mixed results against Carroll.
Last year during the regular season, the Vikings were handed a 0-3 loss only to rebound in the conference final game to win 2-1. Looking to rebound from last year’s loss, Carroll led a steady attack, applying constant pressure to the Viking defense, resulting in 19 shots on goal compared to Lawrence’s three.
According to junior goalkeeper Cassie Burke, “We started out very strong and were putting passes together nicely. However, Carroll’s bench was deeper than ours, so fatigue set in as the game wore on.” Remarkably, all 19 of Carroll’s attempts were denied.
This was in large part due to Burke’s 13 saves. When questioned about her performance, Burke immediately praised junior sweeper, Elyse Daly and sophomore defender Amanda Ollerer, who saved a ball off the line twice during the game.
Said Burke: “They both did an outstanding job.” Daly added that it was a team effort saying, “Our whole team worked hard to make sure Carroll couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities.” Burke also noted that it was both an emotionally and physically demanding game, evident by the three yellow cards and hefty 32 fouls committed collectively by the teams.
Even still, Lawrence hung tough with a Carroll squad that was selected by league coaches to finish first in the conference. While the girls were certainly looking for a win, Daly looked at the positives: “It’s disappointing not to win, but at the same time we played very well against a very good team, and even a tie will give us momentum going into our next game.”
The odds were against the Vikings, who not only played in hostile territory, but also were seen as the underdog. Considering the girls fought off a wicked offensive push by a top-seeded team, Daly got it right. This game should be seen as a success, or at the very least something to build on.