Ann Arbor, MI — The Goshen College women’s soccer team opened the 2005 season with the first of a double-header spread over five days, facing Concordia University in Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon before returning the favor and hosting the Cardinals this upcoming Wednesday. Despite a new defensive scheme that greatly pleased head coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj, it was Concordia that took round one of the double-dip, winning Saturday’s contest by a 2-0 score.

“Concordia was surprisingly solid today, especially the speed up front,” Mounsithiraj said. “It was a busy day for the defense. Despite the two-goal result we are very pleased with our new defensive tactics and how our players adjusted to them. We just weren’t able to get anything going up front offensively.”

Concordia’s second-half scores were anything but routine against the Leafs’ defense, as the first came on a penalty kick and the second with just three minutes to play in the contest, a moot point for all intents and purposes.

After a first half which saw Goshen successfully fend off a variety of pushes by the Cardinals, neither team could find the back of the net. That was the case for much of the second period as well, until in the 63rd minute Concordia’s Megan Romer was able to break free from the Leafs’ defense. With a one-on-one opportunity against freshman goalkeeper Emmy Gibson looming, Romer made a nifty dribble move that drew Gibson out of the net. As Romer attempted to pass, Gibson lunged for the ball, grabbing Romer’s leg in the process. The resulting foul gave Romer the penalty kick, which she converted. It was enough to dampen Goshen’s spirits for the remainder of the match.

“We lost our momentum after they scored,” assistant coach Tera Franklin said. “We have to do a better job maintaining our poise after situations like today.”

Concordia was able to tack on an insurance goal with under three minutes to play, after pushing the ball up the sideline and centering it to Casey Hoover for the goal.

“We had a number of outstanding performances in our first match of the year,” Mounsithiraj said. “(Juniors) Hannah Eash and Mary Jo Martin anchored the defense, while Emmy Gibson played an excellent game for her first collegiate match. Another surprise for us was the play of (freshman) Amy Clem who came in defensively off the bench. We had numerous solid combinations from our center midfielders but were unable to put (senior) Tara Plank and (sophomore) Sarah Groff through the front for quality chances. The kids have shown tremendous improvement from last season in their play. We will have to go back to work and look forward to another chance this Wednesday.”

Goshen will host the Cardinals at the Goshen College Soccer Complex Wednesday night. Match time is set for 4 p.m.