The Lawrence Women’s Soccer team competed against Ripon College and Lake Forest in two separate Conference matchups this past week. The Lady Vikes were victorious in their game on Thursday against Ripon with a final score of 5-0, but fell to the conference leading Foresters 4-0. The team moves its record to 9-8 on the season.
Lawrence shut out the visiting Red Hawks with five goals coming from a dominant offensive performance. “This was one of our best games as a team,” said senior Perrin Tourangeau. “Everything just started flowing.” The first goal of the evening came from senior Anne Leung on a penalty kick that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar in the 19th minute. Freshman Mari Hubanks followed with the next goal up the sideline to make the score 2-0. Ripon almost capitalized on a penalty kick with a minute left in the first half; however Paige Birschbach’s shot bounced off the post out of bounds leaving the Vikings with a 2-0 lead in at the half.
Lawrence continued scoring into the second half beginning with a goal by Tourangeau off a deflected corner kick. The Vikings’ next goal came in the 74th minute off a header from senior Genna Matt. The team sealed the victory with a late goal by freshman Christine Kerkman, the first of her collegiate career.
The Vikings did not fare so well against the undefeated Lake Forest on Saturday. Led by Michelle Greeneway, the Foresters scored 4 unanswered goals in the Lawrence loss.
Although Saturday’s loss means it is statistically unlikely that the team will progress to the conference playoffs, the Lady Vikes are determined to end the season on a high note. “This season feels different,” Tourangeau said. “We all had a cohesive goal, which forced us to work really hard for our teammates. I’ve seen major growth in all of my teammates.” The team stands at sixth in the Conference, a mark the Vikings will certainly look to improve on in their last game of the season. The team will take on Monmouth at home on Oct. 31. If Lawrence defeats Monmouth and both Knox and Beloit lose, the team could potentially gain a conference tournament berth.