Goshen, IN — It is now starting to become almost off-putting.

The Goshen College women’s soccer team puts up a great effort, has several shots nearly go into the back of an opponent’s net, and gives up just one goal in return.

Unfortunately, this scenario has led to three 1-0 losses in the squad’s last four contests – and a total five on the season — with the latest coming against Manchester College Thursday evening at the Goshen College Soccer Complex.

“Similar to our past couple of matches, we established our play and passing pattern very solidly early on,” said Thavisith Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach following the team’s latest defeat. “We created a number of scoring chances. Our defensive third was very solid with our fullbacks making runs into our attacking third. We have a keeper who can potentially score from a free kick. We just can’t seem to find that final push to get us to where we want to be.”

Thursday night’s result was eerily similar to the squad’s last pair of 1-0 defeats, as again it was Goshen (4-8, 1-3) that looked primed to take a 1-0 lead early on. Freshman Ali Gotwals sent a blast from just outside Manchester’s 18-yard box midway through the first period, only to have her shot bang off the crossbar and back into the field of play. The ensuing rebound was nearly booted into the back of the net as well, but a Manchester defender made a sliding effort to thwart the ball’s path away from the goal.

Controlled possession from the Leafs suffered only slightly as the game wore on, but Manchester made the most of an angled shot in the contest’s 58th-minute mark. The Spartan’s Stacey Jerke sent a rocket toward sophomore keeper Emmy Gibson, who made a spectacular diving play to keep the score tied at 0-0. Unfortunately for Goshen, no one was there when the ball caromed off of Gibson’s hands and back into the goal box, allowing Manchester’s Paige Koomler to place the bal into an open goal for the 1-0 score.

“Over the course of the match I saw that we worked extremely hard to gain the advantage,” Mounsithiraj said. “However, we were not as sharp as we needed to be as the match wore on. The team acknowledged this fact as well. It seemed as if we were a step or a pass behind in our play, especially in the second half.”

The Leafs did have multiple opportunities for equalizer scores, as senior Hannah Eash and junior Sara Groff each took free kicks from 25 yards out late in the contest, only to come away empty. Perhaps Goshen’s best chance at a score came with under three minutes remaining, when junior Lucy Roth got free on a breakaway only to touch the ball one too many times, allowing a pursuing defender to catch up and knock the ball away at the last moment.

Despite the loss, Mounsithiraj said he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort, as Manchester had scored eight goals on the Leafs in the teams’ previous two meetings.

“(Freshman) Allison Yoder helped to slow down (Manchester’s) speed and Hannah Eash helped anchor a solid defensive effort for us tonight,” Mounsithiraj said. “I was disappointed with the result of 1-0, but I was pleased to see that we continue to play better soccer, especially with having six freshmen in the lineup. I continue to see moments of great play form our kids every match. We just have to keep lengthening those spans.”

An unrelenting schedule will make things no easier for Goshen, as the team will travel to perennial Mid-Central Conference power Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Match time is set for 3:15 p.m. — a slight change from a reported 3:30 p.m. start time.