Women’s soccer falls to Frostburg in ECACs

The Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer team fell to the Frostburg State University Bobcats 1–0 during an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South quarterfinal match Wednesday.

The Tartans conclude the season with a 8–7–2 record overall. This one-game postseason marked the collegiate finale for the three seniors: midfielders Amanda Rose and Jessica Howard and forward Kasey Stever.

The Tartans dominated the flow of play for the first 10 minutes. Howard sent a cross into the center of the 18-yard box for Carnegie Mellon’s offense to run onto, but Bobcat senior goalkeeper Stephanie Gwinn met the ball and Stever at her feet, saving a golden scoring opportunity for Carnegie Mellon.

Moments later, Frostburg first-year forward Stephanie Parker took on Tartan junior defender Sarah DeWath, and struck a shot from 25 yards out that first-year Carnegie Mellon goalkeeper Anya Rosen deflected right for a corner. The Bobcats’ kick dropped in the box and Frostburg tried to finish, but missed the frame.

Rosen was kept active, making three saves prior to the lone goal scored in the 27th minute. Frostburg sophomore Lauren Lentine came up the right flank and passed a through ball into the center to teammate Amanda Drake. Drake slid it into the lower left corner of the goal just seconds after entering the game from off of the bench. Forty seconds later, Rose attempted to retaliate and rifled a shot at Gwinn but to no avail.

The second half appeared to be more promising for Carnegie Mellon as the team came out with a revived spirit and intensity. The team cranked up the offense and stabilized the defense, creating scoring opportunities for junior forward Abigail Coffin, Rose, and Stever to capitalize in the attacking third.

“It was hard ending the season with a loss,” assistant coach Betsy Warren said. “It was even harder to see the careers of our three amazing seniors not end in the way they deserved to go out. This was a tough season in respect to the demanding schedule and high level of competition we faced. I was really impressed with the team camaraderie and the players’ ability to work together and play for each other.”

Frostburg out-shot Carnegie Mellon 18–15, and both goalkeepers made five saves throughout the match.

“This season we had the chance to play some very competitive teams, like Denison and the University of Rochester, and proved that we could compete with them,” sophomore midfielder Eleonore Valencia said. “I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to play with such talented and hardworking girls, especially our three seniors who will be leaving a large void that will be very hard to fill.”

“We have some great talent and dedicated players who are willing to push themselves and their teammates to improve,” Warren said. “We have a lot of good things to build off of from this season. We look forward to this season’s experience to motivate the team through the spring and to carry over into them achieving the highest level of performance and success next fall.”