Women’s soccer experiences bumps in the road

After going 2-2 in its August homestand, the women’s soccer team kicked off a month-long road trip. The team went 2-3.

Albany

The Great Danes played hard early on, securing the first three goals of the contest with two goals from sophomore forward Shayla Bergeron and one from sophomore midfielder Casey Marks. Late in the second half, the Owls answered back by scoring two goals in 90 seconds, off shots from sophomore midfielder Jackie Krostek and junior midfielder Allicia Yurkovic. Senior forward Stephanie Ferretti and Krostek picked up assists on the goals. Despite the late surge, Albany held off Temple for the last 15 minutes, securing the 3-2 win.

Johnson City, Tenn.

The Owls played two games here as part of the East Tennessee Tournament. In their first game, the Owls matched up against East Tennessee State University and came away with a 1-0 win. In the 10th minute, Ferretti scored on a pass from junior forward Niki Conn and Yurkovic. Despite outshooting Temple, 5-2, in the first half, the Owls answered back with a strong defensive effort, holding ETSU to two shots in the second half. Sophomore goaltender Gillian Kacsuta started her first game of the season and secured the team’s second shutout of the year. The last one came on Aug. 22 in a 7-0 win against Howard.

The second game came against Miami-Ohio, where the team lost, 2-1. The RedHawks got two early goals from sophomore forward Jess Kodiak and freshman midfielder Katy Dolesh. Yurkovic would cut the deficit in half with a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough.

Vermont

The Owls came out of the gate strong and outshot the Vermont Catamounts, 8-5, in the first half but would not connect on any of those chances. In the second half, junior defender Samantha Farlow would find and set up both Conn and sophomore forward Kate Yurkovic for goals. Kacsuta allowed one goal on nine shots in the win. The lone Vermont goal came from freshman forward Haley Marks.

Maine

This past Sunday, the Owls took on the Maine Black Bears and came away with a 2-1 loss. Senior midfielder Kelsey Wilson notched both goals for Maine and Conn provided the only goal for the Owls.

Other notes

At this point in the season, Conn leads the team with five goals, with the Yurkovic sisters tied at four goals each. The trio has combined for 36 points altogether, which accounts for more than half the team’s total points.

Kacsuta has also played well in goal. She has allowed only five goals and put up 19 saves, which translates to allowing one goal every 81 minutes, and she has a goals-against average of 1.11.

Up next, the Owls have more games on the road with a Sept. 26 matchup against Wagner in Staten Island, N.Y., and a game against George Washington in Washington, D.C., Oct. 1.

Brian Dzenis contributed to this sidebar.