The women’s soccer team battled hard in three away games but managed to gather only one win. The Vikings lost 3-2 to Ripon College, defeated Monmouth College 3-2 in double overtime and fell to Augustana College 4-0. Their overall record now stands at 3-9-1 with a 1-3-1 record in Midwest Conference play.
At Ripon, Lawrence fell behind in the first half after the Red Hawks put in two goals to have a 2-0 lead at halftime. The score stood that way until senior forward Mallory Koula scored in the 62nd minute to start a comeback. Ripon countered back quickly with a goal five minutes later. With just under three minutes left in the match, sophomore defender Amanda Ollerer scored her first collegiate goal to cut the margin back to one, but the Vikings were unable to tie the game. The loss is especially frustrating because Lawrence had a 26-11 shot advantage over Ripon.
The Vikings were able to bounce back at Monmouth. Koula struck first with a goal 13 minutes into the game off a rebound. Senior midfielder Natalie Jin was credited with the assist. The Fighting Scots evened the game seven minutes later and the halftime score was 1-1. Twelve minutes into the second half, freshman forward Caroline Borst scored her first collegiate goal in her first collegiate game appearance.
The goal came off a corner kick from freshman midfielder Keli Muchowski who was credited with the assist. The Vikings held the lead until the 80th minute when Monmouth tied it up and sent the game into overtime. Koula was the hero after scoring her second goal of the day in the second overtime period off a set play from Jin.
After a thrilling victory at Monmouth, the Vikings traveled to Augustana College the next day. Augustana at the time was ranked No. 9 in the country and the Vikings were coming off a hard fought conference victory the day before. Lawrence was unable to make any magic happen as Augustana took the victory 4-0.
Even though the trip did not end on the most positive note, the Vikings were very pleased to get their first conference win. Lawrence has a tough task ahead of them as every game is critical to their chances of advancing to the postseason conference tournament. Senior defender and captain Alyssa Onan believes Lawrence has it in them to make a serious run with the season winding down.
Onan commented, “We can definitely bounce back from the early losses, we just have to come out ready to play and wanting the win every time we step onto the field from here on out. I know that we can do it, and I’m confident that we will finish off the second half of our conference play on a high note.”
Junior goalkeeper Cassie Burke believes that the Vikings are getting better through every game. “We have grown a lot as a team this past week and if we just continue this track of hard work and stay positive, we will be fine.”
Lawrence’s next game is Saturday as they host the visiting Beloit College Bucs at Whiting Field West outside of Alexander Gymnasium at 1 p.m.