The Shepherd University women’s soccer team ended their 2014 regular season with a 2-1 double overtime loss at West Liberty University on Oct. 29. The Rams finish the year with a 9-8-1 overall record and a 7-7-0 record against Mountain East Conference opponents.
The first goal of the match came at the 8:42 mark when West Liberty’s Janice Johnson scored on a pass from Sarah Evans who was positioned at the top of the six-yard box. Despite the early setback, Shepherd managed several shots on goal in quick succession and they eventually tied the game with one of those shots. It came in the 25th minute when freshman midfielder Stephanie Cox scored off senior defender Katie Sock’s rebound shot from 30 yards away to make the score 1-1.
From that point on, neither team seemed to get the upper hand on the other and at the end of regulation the scored remained tied. In the second overtime period, with the score still 1-1, freshman midfielder Allison Shankle came close to scoring the game winning goal with her shot at the 102:35 mark however, West Liberty’s goalkeeper Allie Warsaw made at clutch save. Minutes later, at the 106:33 mark, Shepherd’s regular season came to an unfortunate end. Thanna Oddo was positioned in the bottom right corner of the box and she passed the ball to Sarah Evans who subsequently scored the game-winning goal for West Liberty. The Rams held a 17-11 advantage in shots in the game while corner kicks were even at 2-2.
Shepherd finishes the season with a total of 286 shots and 24 goals scored which ranks fourth among Mountain East Conference teams. On the other hand, they only allowed opponents to score 21 goals in 18 games this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Muller finishes the year with 56 saves and a save percentage of .727.
After their loss to West Liberty, Shepherd began awaiting word on where they would be seeded for the upcoming MEC women’s soccer tournament. The tournament will take place Nov. 5-9 at the campuses of the top four qualifying teams. Shepherd sits fourth in the Mountain East Conference women’s soccer standings.