By Maggie Cassidy

For the women’s soccer team, three is the loneliest number.

The Huskies dropped both weekend matchups 3-0, first at Boston College Friday and again when they hosted Minnesota Sunday. The pair of shutouts sent them to 2-4-1 on the season, but with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) portion of their schedule starting with a trip to George Mason Friday, they’re ready to kick things into gear.

“It’s the start of a new season,” said senior captain Laura Johnson after the Minnesota game.

The “old” season ended on a sour note, though, as the Huskies were outshot 39-7 across the two games.

The Huskies faced a pair of tough opponents in the undefeated No. 9 Eagles and Minnesota, who is in the midst of a winning season at 4-3-2.

“I just feel like we’re struggling to get 10 players on the field that are playing well,” said head coach Ed Matz, who said his team only played well in “bits and spurts.”

“I just feel like on any given time on that field we have five players that are playing poorly and six that are playing well,” he said. “Instead of the five joining the other six and making it a strong eleven, a few might join the people that are playing well and some go the other way and regress.”

Friday, the Huskies played for a tough BC crowd, giving up three goals in the first half, but managing to hold off the Eagles for the entire second period. Sophomore forward Liza Rebello had the Huskies’ only two shots on goal in the game, while senior keeper Annie Petrofsky tallied five saves.

The bad luck carried into Sunday’s matchup as the Huskies continued to play with a tattered roster, plagued by persistent and reoccurring injuries. Their best chances on net went straight to Minnesota keeper Chelsey Turner or high over the crossbar.

Minnesota’s Katie Bethke proved to be a terror on the field, assisting on the Gophers’ first two tallies, and knocking in the third.

“We’re struggling to find some continuity and we’re struggling to find a lineup to give us some attacking,” Matz said. “Unfortunately when we try to switch the lineup to give us more offense it gives us holes on defense, then when we try to switch it up the other way, it just gives us holes on offense.”

He said with such an inconsistent roster – one that is feeling the gap left by injured sophomore midfielder Sofia Palmquist – he wasn’t sure what the magical formula will be to churn out some goals. But he knows his team has to come up with a solution fast.

“The longer you go without scoring goals, the more it takes your confidence away from your strikers and they begin to press and they begin to look for the perfect things,” Matz said. “We just have to keep working hard.”

The struggles were apparent in the midfield as well, as miscommunications and botched passes cost the Huskies. A yellow card showed the frustration of the team after Rebello misplayed a tackle and tried to make up for it by slicing at a Minnesota player’s ankles.

The sloppiness continued into the backfield, as unmarked Gophers were left to twiddle with rebounds and long passes at their leisure. Petrofsky had a great showing, leaping and diving for a total of eight saves.

The Huskies were spared from two close calls, with Minnesota shots hitting the crossbar and right post in the second half.

“I think Annie had a good game,” Matz said. “Our defense, which has been pretty good up until these two games this weekend [when they have] given up some very quality shots in front of Annie. It’s difficult when you leave a person wide open in front of the goal and I think she played very well.”

Petrofsky has 47 saves across the first seven games of the season.

Now the Huskies look ahead to their CAA games, keeping in mind that last year’s conference winner, James Madison, was buried around seventh or eighth place for most of the season before pulling out some important wins at the end.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re 7-0,” Matz said. “We would have just as much chance of winning the CAA as anybody or making the playoffs as anybody. Our job is to get points while we’re on the road.”

He said the “bright spots” he saw occurred after the Minnesota game was finished when the team chemistry started to build.

“If there is a silver lining with our struggles, with our injuries and everything, Annie’s had to step up her leadership. She wants to win and she’s a competitor,” Matz said.

He also added he heard five or six other voices speak up and become leaders after the game.

“Getting into our conference, it’s that much more competitive,” Matthews said. “These games are big for us; we know we can beat them