The Salisbury University women’s soccer team faced off against Bridgewater College yesterday afternoon. A hard-fought 110 minutes of play resulted in a 1-1 draw.
The Sea Gulls (4-2-2) and the Eagles (3-3-1) were both coming off victories over Washington College and Virginia Wesleyan University, respectively.
Salisbury senior forward Julianna Boller said that she was impressed with the team’s performance against a team that is undefeated on the road this season.
“I think it made us play harder than they did in the second half. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for us,” Boller said. “Overall as a team, I think this was a great milestone in our career because we’ve always lost to them, we’ve never tied them and it was good to not walk away with a loss.”
Both of the Eagles’ road wins this season have come in double overtime. The Gulls were able to hold defensively to prevent a third road win for Bridgewater.
Sophomore forward Ana Elson scored the first goal of the game for Bridgewater in the 31st minute. Elson received a cross pass from sophomore forward Emily York to put the Eagles up 1-0.
Salisbury tried to respond in the remainder of the first half, but couldn’t apply to Bridgewater’s defense.
The Eagle defense limited the Sea Gulls to few chances throughout the first half, and Salisbury went into the break scoreless.
A foul in Bridgewater’s box gave Salisbury a chance on a penalty kick just moments into the second half. Senior midfielder/forward Lydia Narum took the penalty kick, but junior goalkeeper Sidney Davis saved the shot and preserved the Eagles’ 1-0 lead.
Just a minute later, Narum scored on a header as freshman midfielder Kasey Lamb sent a free kick into the box. Narum’s third goal of the year pushed the score to 1-1.
Narum said that her teammates responded well to falling behind in the first half and fought to bring the game back in the second.
“I think we handled it well. We scored early in the second half, which is what we wanted to do,” Narum said. “As you can see, we dominated that second half.”
Securing the draw against the Eagles protected the undefeated home record for Salisbury in 2019. The Sea Gulls are currently 3-0-1 on their home field.
Junior goalkeeper Emma Hill turned in a solid day for the maroon and gold, tallying three saves on the day. Hill has recorded 25 saves so far this season.
Davis also shined in goal for the Eagles, recording seven saves on eight shots on goal.
Hill said she is proud of the way the team has responded to adversity and shown a consistent energy this season.
“The offense, I’m honestly always so happy with what they do, and the amount of runs they go off … people sacrificing their bodies for everything, and the defense too, sacrificing everything they have, leaving everything on the line every day,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, if I can match that with my performance, I’ll call it a successful day.”
The Sea Gulls open conference play next Saturday when they travel to face Southern Virginia College at 2 p.m.
By DANIELLE TYLER
Staff writer
Featured photo: Brendan Link image.
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