Women’s Soccer Suffers 3-2 Senior Day Loss to Shenandoah
Image courtesy of Susie Blanchard and Catholic Athletics.
By Sam Bergstrom
On Saturday, September 19, Catholic University’s women’s soccer team celebrated senior day at Carlini Field as they took on the Shenandoah University Hornets. Madelyn Catania, Katie Scully, Alex Berish, Angelina Serrano, and Kelsie Price each received flowers alongside their family members before starting on the pitch for kickoff.
The previous match between these two teams came on September 20, 2025. In that game, Scully scored a goal to help the Cards claim a 1-0 victory in Winchester, VA.
Despite being non-conference opponents, both teams had commanding win streaks to defend in this duel; the Hornets were winners of four straight, and the Cardinals had won three in a row.
Through balls were dispersed at will in the early frame, but both teams struggled to rattle off clean shots. Junior forward Tessa Crossed fired the first shot of the game for the Cards, but it sailed just above the crossbar.
Four minutes later, Catholic cashed in for their first goal of the afternoon on a corner kick. Sophomore defender Ava Moran pinged a short pass to Scully, who knocked it right back to Moran on the far side. Moran then lofted a cross into the box, where junior midfielder Caroline Aponte nailed a reverse header into the back of the net. After 10 minutes, Catholic held a 1-0 lead.
Aponte had another prime chance to score in the 34th minute, but her volley off a deflected corner fell just off to the right. Shenendoah responded promptly with a goal by junior midfielder Alicia Bauer, who scored with her left foot from the top right corner of the box.
With the first half dwindling, freshman forward Emma Antonetti received a beautiful ball on the break, but her shot missed just off to the right. In the 40th minute, Scully deflected a short shot off of goalkeeper Morgan Musselman, but it found its way right back to Antonetti. This time, the freshman found the back of the net by nailing it into the right side. Antonetti’s first collegiate goal gave Catholic a 2-1 lead heading to halftime.
To begin the second half, sophomore Lauren Creamer came in to replace Catania as goalkeeper. The second frame was a defensive battle to begin, with Berish making textbook tackles and headers for the Cards.
Offensive activity increased after 60 minutes, with both teams combining for 5 corner kicks in a 10-minute span. At the 70-minute mark, the Hornets zipped a hot shot that deflected off of Creamer for a corner kick.
Much like Catholic in the early frame, Shenandoah showed off their short corner trickery. The initial corner was rolled short by junior midfielder McKenna Newcome, who received the ball right back. After whipping the cross to the right, freshman forward Hannah Sanson hammered a one-bounce top-bins volley to tie it at 2-2.
Moran and Aponte attempted to respond thereafter, but both of their shots fell short. With the momentum shifting, Newcome looked to elevate this game to a new level. After taking dribbles at the top of the box, the lefty launched a looper into the bottom left corner of the net. With this clutch goal, Shenandoah took a 3-2 lead in the 79th minute.
Trailing for the first time all game, Catholic struggled to respond with a proper offensive push. Shenandoah shut down the Cards for zero shots and zero corner kicks in the final 10 minutes. Ultimately, the Hornets hit the Cardinals with a 3-2 senior day stinger. Moreover, Shenandoah improved their record to 6-1 and extended their winning streak to 5 straight.
Overall, the offensive script flipped for both teams once the halves switched. The Cards rattled off 7 shots in the first half compared to Shenandoah’s 1. In the second half, the Hornets had 6 shots compared to Catholic’s 2.
No players from either team received a card, and the game featured clean tackles from the defense. Both teams had their fair share of throw-ins, but Shenandoah won the corner kick battle, 8-5.
For Catholic, this was their first home loss of 2026. The Cardinals now sit at 3-2-1, which is good for fourth place in the Landmark Conference Standings.
The Cardinals will play their next match this Wednesday against St. Mary’s College (MD.) at 7 P.M. on Carlini Field.
