The Salisbury University women’s soccer team played host to the Catholic University of America on Saturday. The Sea Gulls came away with the shutout win, 2-0.
Both the Sea Gulls (3-2-1) and the Cardinals (3-2-1) entered Saturday’s contest following draw to Virginia Wesleyan University and Stevenson University, respectively.
Before its tie with the Marlins, Salisbury suffered back-to-back losses to Montclair State University and the hosting Knights. After a 3-0 start, the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the year to Randolph-Macon College before their draw with Stevenson.
The Sea Gull offense dominated the early stages of the first half, keeping the ball in Cardinal territory for most of the period. Despite this, neither side came away with a goal in the opening half.
At the break, Salisbury had recorded six shots to Catholic’s five. Junior goalkeeper Emma Hill made five saves for Salisbury in the first half.
The Sea Gulls got on the board in the 52nd minute when a pass from senior forward Julianna Boller set up sophomore Ally Goetz for her first goal on the season. Goetz said that scoring early in halves is something the Salisbury offense has worked on so far this year.
“We’ve talked about it all season long so far about scoring in the first 15 minutes [of a half],” Goetz said. “It’s a goal of ours, and we want to build on that.”
Salisbury found the back of the net again in the 58th minute as the Sea Gulls drew a Catholic foul in the box for a penalty kick. Senior Lydia Narum stepped up and sent in her second goal of the season to establish the 2-0 score.
The Sea Gull defense was able to shut down Catholic University’s offense for the rest of regulation, allowing just one Cardinal shot on goal in the entire second half. Hill credited her defense for its effort and tenacity on the field to help secure the victory.
“They showed a lot of grit every day they come out to practice, to training, to games. They just put everything they have on the line,” Hill said. “They’re willing to sacrifice their bodies, block shots, do whatever to keep the ball to getting to me, which makes my job pretty easy.”
Head coach Kwame Lloyd was pleased with the performance of his team against a familiar foe in Catholic.
“I felt it was a really good team win, really proud of everything from our bench to the players who played,” Lloyd said. “I thought our movement off the ball was very good. [Catholic’s] defending was the best we’ve seen so far; [they’re] a quality team.”
The Sea Gulls are now 3-0 at home on the young season, outscoring their home opponents 16-0 thus far.
Salisbury will travel to Washington College for its next match on Wednesday. The next home contest for the Sea Gulls will be Sept. 21, playing host to Bridgewater College.
By BRANDON STARK
Staff writer
Featured photo: Brendan Link image.