The Shepherd University Women’s Soccer team began their 2013 campaign with two consecutive victories against Davis & Elkins College and Ursuline College. However, they suffered their first setback of year Tuesday, Sept. 10 with a 3-1 loss to Le Moyne. Shepherd played solid soccer in the first half and the team looked to be picking up where they left off, but struggled in the second half to prevent Le Moyne from rallying for the win.
The Rams tallied the first goal of the game and took a 1-0 lead at the 31:18 mark when senior Morgan Gabriel scored an unassisted goal. They maintained a 1-0 lead throughout the majority of the match until the 67:38 mark when Rachel Terry scored one of her two goals off an assist from Renee Keller to tie the game for the Dolphins. Less than five minutes later, Lindsey Bakal penetrated the Shepherd defense and scored off an assist from Terry to capture the lead for the first time in the contest.
The Rams attempted to battle back to tie the game, but the Dolphins put the game out of reach at the 88:44 mark because of an unassisted goal by Terry to and seal the win. Senior Elizabeth Wise made 13 saves and remained active in goal for the Rams while Le Moyne held a 24-7 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
Finally, the Mountain East Conference announced Sept. 9 that freshman Courtney Balitzar was named offensive player of the week. Baltizar scored a game winning goal, notched two assists and played a critical role in the Rams’ first two wins of the season over Davis & Elkins and Ursuline.