Women’s soccer has record-breaking season
The Saint Joeseph’s University women’s soccer team competed and took second place in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament this past weekend. The Hawks won their first two games to make it to the championship match where they suffered a loss, their second one all season long.
Having the No. 1 seed, St. Joe’s came into the tournament on Thursday night feeling confident in their chances. After a long game, the Hawks won their first game 1-0 in double overtime against the home team, the University of Rhode Island Rams.
“The first night [Thursday], we were nervous,” Head Coach Jess Mannella said. “Even though we were the first seed, Rhode Island had a home game, so they had all of their fans cheering for them and we didn’t come out particularly strong.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Grace Bendon posted a shutout in a match that went back and forth much of the time.
The stalemate was broken just one and a half minutes into the second over time when sophomore Paige Bergman took a corner kick and sophomore Taylor Ryan’s header deflected off a Rhode Island defender to find the back of the net and get the win.
Both teams had their chances throughout the game, but the Hawks had a 20-13 advantage in shots.
Friday night was a vast improvement for the Hawks as they cruised into the finals by taking down the George Mason University Patriots with a score of 5-2.
“[Our best game] was definitely Friday night against George Mason,” Mannella said. “We came out more relaxed and played our game.”
The Hawk’s first goal came 15 minutes into the game when senior Shannon Mulvey scored ona rebound from freshman Gabrielle Vagnozzi.
In the 22nd minute, Vagnozzi scored a goal of her own off assists from junior Lauren Dimes and sophomore Michaela Finneyfrock.
Photo courtesy Atlantic 10
In the second half, sophomore Dakota Mills went on to score two goals, both on assists from Mulvey, and Dimes scored one as well on an assist from Vagnozzi.
George Mason managed to score two goals in the second half, but it was not enough to take down the Hawks.
St. Joe’s made it to the finals of the A-10 championship for the first time in school history, one of the many milestones the team has had this season. Unfortunately, the Hawks suffered a loss in the final to the University of Dayton Flyers, 7-0.
Despite the outcome, three Hawks were named to the A-10 All-Championship team: Mills, Vagnozzi, and Bendon.
“We keep telling our girls to enjoy it, but no matter what happens, we still went 18- 2-2 and have a lot to be proud of,” Mannella said.
The Hawks went undefeated in their regular season conference play, going 9-0-1.
Having accomplished so much this season, it is hard to say which one memory felt the greatest.
“It’s a toss up between making it to the A-10 final, because it’s the first time we’ve ever been there, and also being undefeated regular season champions; it’s something I know we’re all really proud of,” Mannella said.
Photo courtesy Atlantic 10
Members of the St. Joe’s women’s soccer team had their fair share of individual records in addition to those broken by the team. Mills claimed both the record for the most goals, set in 2014 by her teammate, senior Emily Gingrich, and the most points in a single-season, set in 2006.
In Friday’s game against George Mason, Vagnozzi surpassed Gingrich’s 2014 record for assists with 11.
“We’re really proud of our girls for everything they’ve done this season,” Mannella said. “Hopefully, we can keep building on [it] for our future.”
