Women’s soccer plays last game before A-10 championships
Even though the Saint Joseph’s University women’s soccer team would have been seeded seventh in the A-10 championships no matter how they fared against conference opponent, St. Bonaventure University, they managed to fight their way to a deserved win on Oct. 22.
The Hawks took down the Bonnies 2-1 in 90 minutes, a relief as they had battled Fordham University in double overtime just a few days earlier, on Oct. 19. Head coach Jess Mannella recognized the effect that playing 108 minutes of soccer just days before had on the team.
“We went into double overtime on Thursday, so we were a bit tired and we could see it,” Mannella said. “St. Bonnies always seems to always be our last game of the season, and even though they were technically out [of playoffs], they had a lot to play for and worked really hard and played a good game.”
St. Joe’s was able to put immediate pressure on the Bonnies despite possible fatigue from their previous match. The first goal for the Hawks came in the 16th minute from freshman Morgan Bower when she had a breakaway, after a miscommunication between a Bonnie defender and goalkeeper allowed Bower to get behind them and finish.
The goal marked Bower’s seventh of the season, an impressive amount for a first year athlete.
“It was pretty cool [to have an impact on the program], to get on the field was awesome for me and I was so happy with the playing time I got this year,” Bower said. “To contribute to the team in scoring made it so much better and made me feel like I was even more part of this team.”
Mannella recognizes the offensive advantage that Bower brings to the program.
“She has an incredible work rate and she has really fast pace, so she was able to make an impact right away because of those two things,” Mannella said. “She’s able to get behind defenses because of those two things.”
The Hawks outshot the Bonnies 10-1 in the first half, with the period ending at 1-0, St. Joe’s.
St. Bonaventure fought back in the second half, resulting in a goal with 26 minutes left. Junior goalkeeper Grace Bendon faced St. Bonaventure’s Mariah Marrero one-on-one, and Marrero was able to find the far post to tie the game at 1-1.
Determined to stay out of overtime, the Hawks fought until the end to secure a win. With eight minutes left, junior Hannah Racis was able to find the back of the net to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
The St. Joe’s defense remained steadfast to earn the Hawks a 2-1 win at the end of the regular season. The team ended their season with an overall record of 10-5-3 and a conference record of 5-3-2, giving them the seventh seed in the playoffs. They will face second-seed Saint Louis University at their home field in Missouri on Oct. 28.
Mannella has confidence going into the upcoming playoff game despite not having the home-field advantage.
“We did lose to St. Louis 3-0 [this season], but it was a Sunday game after going into double overtime the game before and travelling,” Mannella said.
The team has had a successful season but has some work to do in order to reach their goal of winning the A-10 championships and making it to the NCAA tournament, which they were unable to do last year even though they were the A-10 regular season champions.
“A lot of this season, we’ve been working on maintaining high pressure at all times, so I think we’ll work to improve it,” Bower said. “Switching the field and going to end line are what we’ve also been working on, so I think it will be about getting possession and playing from the middle to the outsides.”
