Lady Barons soccer falls to undefeated Bobcats
By: Nick Mersch
NICK MERSCH
Photo by: Anne Deemer
The Franciscan University of Steubenville women's soccer team dropped a contest against the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg 4-1 Tuesday, Oct. 15.
The Lady Barons knew they had a tall task ahead of them: the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats, the number one team in the conference, had yet to lose a game, and they planned on keeping that streak intact.
The game started off looking very even as the home team seemed to have equal control of the possessions. Franciscan seemed to create opportunities but couldn't develop past the Bobcat's back line. After a few fouls on the Bobcats, the Lady Barons seemed to begin settling in.
This momentum halted as the Bobcats scored in the bottom-left corner of the net to open the game's scoring at 1-0. Junior goalkeeper Marita Ostrich was getting work early as this goal was the third shot she faced, and she soon had another save shortly after. Senior forward Sarah Cocozza fouled a Bobcat on the defensive half of the field to give the away team the ball. Two minutes later, the Bobcats scored again, bringing the score to 2-0.
It wasn't until 33 minutes in that sophomore Claire Dawyot registered the first shot of the game, which was saved by the Bobcat keeper.
Both teams entered the second half with new energy as they took to the field. The Lady Baron spunk was thwarted quickly as the Bobcats scored just two minutes into the half off of a corner kick. Looking at 3-0, Franciscan's team needed a push.
The Lady Barons found ways to penetrate the Bobcat back line in the second half, putting two shots on net quickly after the third Greensburg goal, but the away–team keeper made save after save.
After a handful of fouls on both teams, the Bobcats put in their fourth and final goal of the game. The Lady Barons did not give up, and their efforts paid off. Junior midfielder Annie Beckman put in her first goal of the season as she came off the bench to give a spark to her team. Soon after, the buzzer sounded, and the game ended 4-1 in favor of the Bobcats.
Despite the loss, head coach Christyn Bobak had some positive takeaways from the game.
Bobak said, "They were a very disciplined and well-played team. That is the best we will see in our conference. That game exposed some things we need to work on moving forward, and our women are prepared to do that."
The Lady Barons will take on the Hilbert College Hawks this Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
Lady Barons topple second-place Bobcats
Lady Barons soccer loses to rival on Tuesday
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