Women’s soccer brings record to 5-3-0
The University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team upset No. 3 ranked Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent Quincy University, 1-0, on Sept. 25.
Sophomore forward Nicole Duncan scored from 15 yards out, giving UIndy the lead.
Duncan’s play was led by sophomore forward Shelby Spinelli.
The win pushed the Greyhounds’ record to 5-3-0 (3-2-0 conference) and was the Hawks first conference loss of the season.
Senior goalkeeper Shae Morris earned the shutout victory, her fifth of the season.
The Greyhounds defeated Illinois-Springfield 3-0 (2-3-1, 1-3-1 GLVC) Sept. 23 to improve to 4-3-0 (2-2-0 GLVC).
UIndy dominated the offense, tallying 16 shots to Illinois-Springfield’s seven.
Junior back Haley Miller (17) off Wisconsin-Parkside forward Stephanie Barsuli (14) on Sept 11. Photo by Bob Helfst.
Goals came from senior midfielder Lauren Soza, Duncan and freshman midfielder Katie Johnston. Morris had two saves for the evening.
“Our main plan is to stick to our game plan, stick to our possessive style of play and not let the other team dictate our style of play,” said senior back Libby Anderl.
Previously, UIndy lost 2-1 to No. 14 Grand Valley State University on Sept. 20.
The Greyhounds scored early against the defending national champions with a goal in the 20th minute by Soza off of a rebound by Spinelli.
GVSU answered with two goals in the second half and the game winner came with five minutes left in play.
According to Anderl the tight game was a morale boost for the team.
“To have Soza put away a goal in the 20th minute, to put us on top 1-0, was a huge statement for us,” Anderl said. “The box score says we lost 2-1, but we are walking away from that game with a lot of confidence, knowing that we are starting to play our best heading into challenging conference play.”
The Sept. 18 match-up against the University of Missouri-St. Louis was postponed due to poor field conditions.
As of The Reflector presstime, the game has yet to be rescheduled.
“The good thing about it [the University of Missouri-St. Louis game being canceled] was that we had Grand Valley waiting for us on Tuesday,” said Head Coach Kiley Cirillo. “It wasn’t like we had to wait a full week to find another game.”
On Sept. 16, UIndy defeated Maryville 1-0 thanks to a late goal in the 80th minute from Duncan with an assist by Spinelli.
“We’re going to score late because we wear teams down with our style of play and make them chase,” Cirillo said. “It’s a little bit different than what people have seen around here.”
Anderl attributed the turnaround from last season’s 2-1 overtime defeat at Maryville’s hands to the new strategy.
“When we possess the ball, well, we are able to wear teams down,” Anderl said.
The team lost 1-2 to Wisconsin-Parkside on Sept. 11.
Anderl scored her first college goal off of a pass from senior midfielder Morgan Binder.
“It was amazing, especially as a defender whose job is to keep the ball out of our own net and against Parkside because they are one of our biggest rivals,” Anderl said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better pass from Binder to set it up. So as always, the goal was a great team effort.”
The 1-0 lead wouldn’t hold, however. Parkside returned with two goals in the next ten minutes.
“After the initial shock of the back-to-back goals we all came together to finish the game out strong,” Binder said.
The Greyhounds will travel to Southern Indiana on Sept. 30.
