Young women’s soccer team hopes to improve
The University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team visited Bellarmine University on Sept. 23 and were defeated 1-0.
The only goal of the match came right before the 13th minute of play from Bellarmine’s Abby Janszen. The Greyhounds had eight shots in the match, while Bellarmine had 22. Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Fee had a career-high 11 saves in goal during the match.
UIndy visited first-year GLVC member McKendree University on Sept. 21 and fell to the Bearcats 1-0 in double overtime. It was the first meeting between the two programs.
The Bearcats Tess Huettner had the lone goal of the match. The Greyhounds had a total of seven shots in the match compared to McKendree’s 13, and Fee made six saves in the match.
UIndy defeated Missouri S&T 2-0 on Sept. 16, taking its first win of the season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Freshman forward Taylor Cotherman scored the first goal of her college career for the Greyhounds 20 minutes into the match, giving UIndy the lead. Sophomore midfielder Stacey Klene scored another goal, assisted by junior forward Nicole Duncan 50 minutes into the match. The goal was Klene’s first of the season.
Fee made three saves on the day in goal. Fee’s performance helped guide the Greyhounds to an uncontested victory against Missouri S&T and ended a losing streak of four matches.
Duncan said that the Greyhounds saw changes during the match against Missouri S&T that were a sign of improvement.
“We were able to control the ball against them, which is something that we have struggled with before,” Duncan said.
The Greyhounds traveled to Drury University on Sept. 14 and were defeated 2-1, giving UIndy its fourth loss of the season.
Although the Greyhounds got on the board first with junior midfielder Kaitlyn Braunig’s goal in the 38 minutes into the match, the Drury Panthers were able to win the match by scoring two goals in the second half. The first goal came 60 minutes into the match, and the next came 14 minutes later. Fee made three saves in goal during the match.
Duncan said that the loss to Drury was a disappointment to the entire team.
“Everyone was upset. It was one of those games where we probably should have won,” she said.
The Greyhounds hosted Rockhurst University on Sept. 9 and were defeated 1-0. Rockhurst scored the first goal 35 minutes into the match. After that first goal, neither team scored again despite several attempted shots.
Fee took the loss in goal, making four saves throughout the match.
Head Women’s Soccer Coach Kiley Cirillo said that he felt better about this match as opposed to previous matches.
“We held it together. We were able to move forward after they scored, and we didn’t give up anything,” Cirillo said.
The Greyhounds also played at home against William Jewell College on Sept. 7 and were defeated 3-0. William Jewell took the lead 29 minutes into the game off a goal from Sarah Franklin, taking a 1-0 lead. Following a lightning delay before the second half, William Jewell put up two more goals and the Greyhounds failed to score, leading to a loss in their home opener of the GLVC season. Junior forward Shelby Spinelli led the Greyhounds in shots for the match, taking a total of four shots. Fee took the loss in goal, making eight saves in the match. Cirillo said that he did not believe the team played well against William Jewell but still thought that the team was working towards reaching its potential.
“I don’t think we are there yet but we’re getting better,” Cirillo said.
Cirillo said that he thought the team learned from its mistakes against William Jewell and used that knowledge to play better against Rockhurst.
This year’s women’s soccer team has a different dynamic compared to last year’s team. The team lost nine seniors from the previous season. Cirillo said that losing such experience would cause notable changes in the team this year.
“Anytime you start with nine seniors missing from your squad, you’re going to have some gaps,” he said.
According to Cirillo, the team got off to a slow start this year but that the players were still optimistic about how the year can turn out.
Duncan she believes the team is peaking at the right time in the season.
“I think people are starting to get more comfortable and more confident on the ball, and I think we are becoming the team that we can be,” Duncan said.
According to Cirillo, the team needs to work on its composure. “I think some of that is experience,” he said.
Cirillo said that when the team loses its composure, the players give up several goals in a matter of minutes.
“That’s not good enough. That’s a stat that we’ve got to make better, and I think we did that on Sunday [against Rockhurst],” Cirillo said.
The Greyhounds will host Kentucky Wesleyan College at Key Stadium on Sept. 28 at 5 p.m., and the University of Southern Indiana on Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.
