With five games of the 2013 regular season complete, the Shepherd University Women’s soccer team currently holds an impressive 3-1-1 overall record. Over the course of the first five matches of the season, the team has been scored on only five times while they have recorded seven goals of their own. They continued this play on both sides of the ball when they recently faced Charleston and Concord.
The Rams traveled to Charleston, WV Sept. 14 to face Mountain East Conference rival University of Charleston in a game where both teams battled to a 1-1 draw. Shepherd posted the first tally of the match at the 40:30 mark, which gave the Rams a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, when junior Kasey Canterbury scored an unassisted goal. Shepherd maintained a 1-0 lead for the majority of the contest and another victory seemed to be just seconds away when the Golden Eagles penetrated the Shepherd defense and recorded the game tying goal at the 89:39 mark. Kimberley D’Angelo scored the tying goal off an assist from Brittany Loveland. Charleston held the 23-11 advantage in shots while senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Wise made 11 saves for the Rams.
After being seconds away from recording a victory against Charleston, the team looked to rebound when they welcomed Concord University Sept. 18. The match remained scoreless throughout the first half; however, just several minutes into the second half, at the 52:03 mark, Canterbury scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Seconds later, the Rams added an insurance goal and took a 2-0 lead when junior Kelsey N. Smith tallied the second goal of the game on a free kick. The team played a stout defense for the remainder of the game and prevented the Golden Eagles from recording a single goal to earn the shutout victory. In addition, they held the upper hand with 24-11 in shots and a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks while senior Elizabeth Wise played another impressive game in goal by making five saves. The team was scheduled to face Wheeling Jesuit Sept. 21st; however, due to inclement weather the game was postponed until the next day.