Women’s soccer defeated in tournament
The seventh-seeded University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team was defeated in the first round of GLVC tournament play by No. 2 seed Bellarmine on Oct. 30. The Greyhounds had beaten the Knights 2-1 during regular season play.
“In the GLVC, anyone can beat any team on any given day,” said senior goalkeeper Shae Morris. “It’s exciting because it forces teams to take each game seriously and always respect their opponent. We had played them during the regular season and for this game, they made the appropriate adjustments to exploit our team’s weaknesses.”
Morris saved 8 goals for the day. Bellarmine posted 27 shots to the Greyhound’s 5, with 13 shots on goal to 3 by UIndy. Senior midfielder Morgan Binder led the Greyhounds with 2 shots.
“The bottom line is they [Bellarmine] did what they needed to do and we didn’t take care of the ball very well and when that happens it’s a very bad combination,” said head coach Kiley Cirillo. “We had a game plan and we didn’t stick to it.”
Four days prior to the GLVC tournament loss, the Greyhounds defeated St. Joseph’s 2-1. The Pumas scored in the third minute off of a corner kick.
“I think after that, we refocused and played well,” senior back Libby Anderl said. “We never panicked and we never packed it in.”
Sophomore forward Nicole Duncan responded with her tenth goal of the season in the 23rd minute off a pass from senior midfielder Lauren Soza. Duncan assisted fellow sophomore forward Shelby Spinelli to score the game-winning goal in the 61st minute.
“The score is not really a reflection of what we were doing,” Cirillo said. “We had a lot of opportunities, we just didn’t put them in the back of the net. At that time of the year, it’s just about getting the win. It doesn’t matter how you do it.”
The Greyhounds outshot the Pumas 23 to 2, with 9 shots on goal to the Pumas sole score. Duncan led the team with six shots total.
The Greyhounds will graduate nine seniors in the spring.
“I don’t know if you necessarily ‘replace’ a group of seniors like that,” Cirillo said. “We’ve got to fill some holes and we’re moving towards 2013 now. We feel pretty good about what we have coming in.”
The graduating class is former Head Coach Geoff VanDeusen’s first recruiting class.
“We have endured challenges and changes together and created strong friendships that will last a lifetime,” Morris said.
Cirillo pointed to the intangible qualities that help contribute to a team’s success.
“There’s a lot of significant role-players, the kind who play big roles but don’t post huge minutes or stats that we have to fill,” Cirillo said. “It takes a special kind of person to do what they do.”
Anderl was optimistic for the future of the program.
“I know the girls will be able to fill our roles and succeed in the seasons to come,” she said.
