Women’s soccer comeback against
 Marist to start MAAC play

Steve Morano
MSMU Class of 2024

(10/2022) On Saturday, September 17, the Mount women’s soccer team opened their inaugural MAAC season with a 2-2 tie over Marist College in Emmitsburg. The team went behind 2-0 within the first twenty minutes of the first half, but after substitutions and formation changes, fought back to tie the game 2-2. It’s the start of a brand-new year in a brand-new conference, and it was important to establish a fighting mentality in the team. But the tie against Marist is not the first game of the season for the team; for that we must go back to August to get a good idea of what the team is all about.

The team opened their season against Western Carolina University at Waldron family Stadium on August 18th with a 1-1 tie against the Catamounts. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, there were two first half goals, the Mount’s being score by first year student, Nicole Wilson. After the first half, the Mount’s defense clearly leveled up their game, not allowing a goal after the 23rd minute; goalkeeper, Arden Lembryk, junior, made eight saves and helped sure up the Mount defensively between the posts.

A canceled game against Bucknell, a 1-1 tie against Robert Morris and a 2-0 loss to Towson defined a hard away trip for the Mountaineers. The loss against Towson is especially frustrating as it accounts for their one and only loss of the year so far. That loss against Towson signaled the end of rough away trip and a return to Waldron family Stadium to open a two game homestand against Radford University and Hampton University. The game against Radford ended in a 1-1 tie for the Mountaineers as graduate student Maevyn Jones scored the only goal that night. Sophomore Drew Camp was in goal this time and made four saves off nine shots on target faced.

The Mount faced the Hampton Pirates on the afternoon of September 10th in Emmitsburg and the game did not disappoint. The Mountaineers notched their first win of the season with three first half goals by Kalli Bell, Madison Bee and Luisangely Navas, respectively, to give a dominant 3-0 win to the team and fans in attendance at Waldron Family Stadium on Mental Health Awareness Day. The Mount out shot Hampton twelve to five with all three of the Mount’s shots on target counting for goals in the end. Camp, who was in goal again, only faced two shots, saving both in the process to pick up her first clean sheet and more importantly, the team’s first clean sheet of the season.

The Mount travelled to Ashville, North Carolina to play their final out of conference game before the start of the MAAC season against UNC Ashville and tied 0-0. Drew Camp started in goal again and recorded her second clean sheet in a row, saving all three shots on target by the Bulldogs, guaranteeing that the Mount would be in good hands going into their opening game against Marist College.

This year, with the Mount being the newest team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, naturally brings challenges to how they will both play their game and manage their team. The MAAC is a much tougher conference then the NEC ever was and has the added challenge of having more games in a season since there are more teams in the conference. The travel is also a tough factor, as most of the away games will be played in the greater New York area, besides the away game against Quinnipiac University, which will be played in Hamden, Connecticut. But the Mount should be in good hands with regards to knowing what the MAAC will bring, as head coach Melissa Sherwood spent four years as head coach at another one of the conferences schools, St. Peters University, which the Mount plays on October 5th.

As the players of both teams entered Waldron family stadium on September 17th, the Mountaineers knew they needed to make a statement in their new conference, and they did. Marist scored quick in the second minute, with a shot beating Camp in goal to set an early precedent. An own goal in the seventh minute by the Mount’s defense, they quickly found themselves down 2-0 within twenty minutes. Soon after the second goal, Sherwood decided to change things up forward and bring on several new players, including sophomore Luisangely Navas, a substitution that would prove pivotal later.

Before the end of the first half, junior Kayley Kocent scored off the build up after a corner. Through traffic she was able to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and head it past to pull the Mount within one. At halftime, Sherwood had to change things up yet again, and try to inspire the players on the field. "We had to go a little bit more man for man, which helps people have a direct opponent to be a little bit more physical and a bit more aggressive." Sherwood added, "At this level, its not about playing football to win games, its about putting the ball in the right areas and doing the nitty gritty."

The Mountaineers started quick at the start of the second half, with Navas sliding the ball past the keeper at the far post to level the game. Sherwood’s changes and halftime team talk seemed to spark the Mount’s attack as they looked like a brand-new team at the start of the half. The game ended in a tie, 2-2, but that wasn’t the only thing to talk about at the end: a Marist player and a Mount player, junior Alexa Dragisics, were both given a yellow card in the seventieth minute, after a run in and a push on the ground alerted the referee to a potential situation. After yellow cards were given out, it was noted in the press box that the animosity between the two teams might result in an ensuing red card if it kept up; it did not. After the game, graduate student and team captain Cheyenna Cook noted that "people get riled up, the bench and the crowd, we have to stay levelheaded and take the emotion out of it, say that happened, regroup and be ready for the next play."

With this resounding comeback today from the Mount, the future in the MAAC is bright for the women’s soccer team. The composure that they showed, and the managerial decisions made by Sherwood and her staff were smart for the situation that the team was in. "We have to fight back, we have to show big heart and as I just said to the players there if we can’t win it, make sure we don’t loose it and we were able to claw ourselves back," Sherwood added after the game.