Goshen College women’s soccer team lost their third conference game on Saturday afternoon. The Maple Leafs played against Taylor University at GC in a complicated game, due to the weather. Taylor dictated play throughout, creating plenty of chances while limiting the Maple Leafs to just six shots for the contest.
The Trojans scored the first goal in the 14th minute, which came from the forward Dani Goecke, a senior. Just 13 minutes later, Trojan midfielder Amanda Roden, a senior, scored to give the team the two-goal lead. Roden scored after being awarded with a penalty kick due to Maple Leafs’ goalkeeper, Molly Zook, a sophomore, receiving a red card. The Leafs played 10-on-11 for the rest of the match.Nikki Zaino, a Taylor first-year, accounted for the final goal, taking a pass from Goecke in the 66th minute to further secure Taylor’s second Crossroads League win of the season.
“The team played pretty well, but getting scored on seemed to lower some people’s energy levels,” Lena Charles, a first-year who started the game against the Trojans, said.
In her opinion, the game against Taylor was her “best game this season. I wish we could have won it.”
Lana Smucker, also a first-year, said that “The team played hard for most of the game. Even though Taylor dominated most of play with their quick outside players, and full team advantage, we stayed in it and played hard.”
Smucker believes the record that GC is holding right is not showing their real skills.
She said, “We have played some very skilled teams that have strong programs and we had really close matches.”
This loss against Taylor drops Goshen to 3-9 on the season and 0-3 in Crossroads League action.
“I expect in our next three to four weeks that we will continue to play skilled teams, but we will certainly be able to compete,” Smucker said about the next games that Goshen will have to face in the Crossroads League.
The Leafs are on the road until Oct. 14 when they play Grace College at 7 p.m. at home.
