By Maggie Cassidy
The women’s soccer team suffered another disappointing weekend, falling to UNC Wilmington 3-0 Friday and Georgia State 2-0 Sunday. The road trip dropped the Huskies’ record to 2-8-3 (0-4-2 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)).
Even worse than the two shutouts were a handful of new injuries that further crippled a tattered roster. Freshman defender Lesley Condie suffered a possible ACL tear, while junior midfielder Emilee Ellison may have strained her NCL. Senior defenseman Hannah Schindler also agitated an ankle injury.
Key defender Brenna Matthews also had to sit out against Georgia State after suffering a concussion in Friday’s game.
With six starters missing from his lineup Sunday, and just one available substitute on the sidelines, head coach Ed Matz said the season’s injuries have been “mind-boggling.”
“I didn’t think things could get worse,” Matz said from the airport in Georgia, where Condie and Ellison waited to board the plane on wheelchairs. “I thought these conversations were over. It’s just simply amazing.”
Senior captain Laura Johnson understated the difficulty of playing with so few players, saying the team was “a little short-staffed” and playing with one sub was “interesting.”
“You don’t expect to see that very often,” she said. “Luckily we’re a fit team, because if we weren’t, we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
UNC started the dismantling early in Friday’s matchup, taking a 1-0 lead off the foot of Jenna Evans in the 14th minute. The Seahawks, now 7-4-1, added two more in the second half to secure the victory.
Coming off a stellar 14-save performance at Parsons Field last Sunday against William ‘ Mary, senior keeper Annie Petrofsky made nine saves in the effort. But the Huskies offense struggled, managing just five shots on net.
NU’s difficulties continued into Sunday’s match against Georgia State. Despite the loss, Petrofsky recorded 13 saves in the effort, but Nathalie Carter hit net in the 60th minute before Kristen McKillop sealed the deal with a penalty kick 17 minutes later.
Matz said he was happy with how his team played when faced with such hurdles.
“I was just proud of the way the girls played today,” he said Sunday. “With all our injuries we just couldn’t overcome it today.”
Johnson agreed.
“I’m pretty impressed with the team right now,” she said. “We can’t dwell.”
Matz said many of the smaller injuries that usually get more attention are “overshadowed” by more severe ones, like Condie’s possible ACL tear and Ellison’s possible NCL tears and junior midfielder Jenna Lucchesi’s compound leg fracture suffered Sept. 30.
“People aren’t really telling us how badly they’re hurt because they know that we didn’t have any choice. We didn’t have any subs toward the end of the [Georgia State] game,” he said. “We have a lot of kids who are playing extended minutes who are injured because we have no other choice.”
He pointed to players like sophomore Sofia Palmquist and junior Maria Picard, two cornerstones of the midfield, who have been “hobbling” around for a full 90 minute game with injuries that aren’t bone-breaking, but significant nonetheless.
“That just goes to show you how good these kids are. It just means so much to them,” Matz said.
While the Huskies sit at a meager 0-4-2 in the CAA and have recorded just one goal in the last eight games, Matz said there is still a small chance of his team making the playoffs.
He estimates they will have to win four of their last five games – a fairly plausible task, as four of those matchups will be held at Parsons Field. The Huskies are 2-2 at home this year and were spotless at Parsons in 2006.
However, with the injuries piling up, he knows it will be difficult.
“Right now health is our biggest concern. Our goal is to still make the playoffs
