The Vikings women’s soccer
team battled Carroll University last
weekend in the first round of the
Midwest Conference Tournament.
Lawrence was a heavy underdog in
the match, but the Vikes came out
particularly strong against a Carroll
side that earned a perfect 9-0 record
in regular-season conference play.
Carroll was noticeably shocked
by Lawrence’s intensity from the
start, as the Pioneers had won the
two schools’ first contest of the season
9-2, playing at Lawrence.
Despite the Viking women’s best
efforts, Carroll would be the first
to score. Kate Tarquino gave the
Pioneers a 1-0 lead with a freekick
strike in the 17th minute, but
the Vikings equalized soon after
Tarquino’s goal when an unassisted
strike from Mallory Koula found the
net in the 22nd minute.
The two sides then battled for
over 65 minutes without a score
as Carroll’s shots-on-goal advantage
was nullified by senior Lindsay
Ahlen’s 11 saves.
Just as the game was nearing
the 88th minute, the Pioneers’ Leah
Wiercinski tapped in the winner,
devastating the Vikings, who had
played their hearts out but finished
the game on the losing end of a 2-1
scoreline. With their win, Carroll
advanced to the finals, in which the
Pioneers defeated St. Norbert 2-0 to
earn the MWC’s berth in the NCAA
tournament.
The women’s soccer team finished
a very respectable 11-7 on the
season, finishing fourth in the MWC
despite being picked to finish in
sixth by the preseason coaches’ poll.
Koula earned an impressive
55 points throughout the season,
scoring 24 goals and helping her
teammates with seven assists. The
Vikings’ assist leader was Liz Seeley,
who posted 10 assists to go with her
seven goals. Sarah Ehlinger notched
26 points this season on 10 goals
and six assists, while freshman Ellie
Galvin had an impressive start to her
Lawrence career with six goals and
six assists.
Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Ahlen
had a solid 73-percent save percentage
on the season, posting five clean
sheets this season. Ahlen, along with
defender Amanda Follett, will graduate
this year and the Vikings will
need to fill the two graduates’ spots
as the rest of the team returns for
next year’s campaign.
Lawrence will look to continue
its success under the leadership of
coach Lisa Sammons, who now holds
a 23-28-1 record after three seasons
in charge of the Vikings.
Women’s soccer loses a heartbreaker
