Women’s Soccer Sweeps at Home

Image courtesy of the CUA Athletic Department

By Claire Prudhomme

Catholic University Women’s Soccer has only four games left until post-season play. The Cardinals played against the defending Landmark Conference champions Susquehanna this past Saturday, October 12. CUA won the home game with a score of 1-0 on Carlini Field. The team battled the River Hawks to get its first win against Susquehanna since 2015 when the Cardinals won by a score of 2-1. 

The game was close in the first half, with both teams holding each other 0-0. In the second half, not even three minutes into the period, freshman forward Elizabeth Gorman scored the only goal of the game and her second goal of the season. This goal by Gorman, assisted by junior forward Bridget Buckley, led the Cardinals to victory against the River Hawks beating them by one.

CUA ended the game with a total of four corner kicks, thirteen shots, and two saves. This is Catholic’s fourth win at home this season. During the past four games the team has gone 3-0-1. Junior goalkeeper Nina Hernandez started the game after sitting the last two due to injury. This game was Hernandez’s ninth shutout game of her career and her fourth shutout game of the season. Hernandez stopped both shots she faced in the evening bringing her season saves to fifty-one.

Catholic played its second game of the week against Goucher on Wednesday, October 16th. The Gophers are at the bottom of the Landmark Conference with a season record of 5-8-2 and a conference record 0-5-2. The Cardinals are currently third in the conference with only three losses so far this season.

The only goal of the night came off of a defensive blunder by Goucher with a ball pushed in the net off of a corner kick. Catholic ended the game with a total of twenty-four shots, six shots on the goal, eight corners, and three saves. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Marykate Stack filled in for Hernandez against Drew and Eastern. She had five total saves from the two games and a perfect saved percentage. Stack spoke about how the team has been working on communication and connecting passes this game and she also commented on the team’s mental approach to the game.

“We went into the game with a purpose of focus and a goal of keeping our mentality positive,” said Stack. “Having a positive mentality going into the game always ends with a good outcome.”

CUA ended the week with two wins against two key conference teams. The Cardinals will play at Juniata this Saturday, October 19th at 4:00 PM.