(Box Score) Goshen, IN — The Goshen College women’s soccer team was in the midst of enjoying back-to-back Mid-Central Conference wins, a feat the program hasn’t boasted since the 1997 season.
Tuesday night at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, 21st-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University put an end to that enjoyment.
Emphatically.
The visiting Wildcats handed Goshen (4-7-2, 2-3-1) a 6-0 loss, the Leafs’ most lopsided defeat in the better part of the last two seasons while doubling the team’s previous high of allowed goals this year.
A season-opening 6-0 loss to Judson (then) College on Aug. 29 last year (click here for related article) was the last time a Goshen team allowed as many goals, while the Leafs’ 0-3 loss to Aquinas College (click here for article) was the previous high mark for goals allotted this season.
Things looked bleak early on Tuesday, as Indiana Wesleyan cashed in on its first score just 1:50 into play, setting the stage for an incredible, five-goal first half.
“We committed too many turnovers too early in the match to have much of a chance this evening,” said Thavisith Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “IWU punished us severly for those mistakes.”
Wesleyan’s Carly Comerouski accounted for two-thirds of the Wildcats’ initial scoring, taking sister Claire Comerouski’s pass and slipping a ball past junior keeper Emmy Gibson just under two minutes into the match. Megan Marshall added another goal at the 20:35 mark and Carly Comerouski headed a ball into the net with just over 15 minutes remaining in the initial period, putting Goshen behind by a 3-0 count just 30 minutes into competition.
Claire Comerouski got into the scoring act at the game’s 28:46 mark, while IWU’s Becca Matthews rounded off the first period onslaught with a goal at the 36:20 point.
Goshen vastly improved its play in the second period — Carly Comerouski completed a hat trick at the 70:44 mark — tightening Wesleyan’s looks at the goal considerably. The Wildcats claimed a 12 to nothing advantage in total shots during the match’s first 45 minutes; the Leafs actually out-shot IWU by a five to four count in the latter period.
“I wish we could have called a timeout early in this match,” Mounsithiraj said. “Their pressure on the ball thwarted any attempt we had to possess the ball. Their finishes were of very high quality. They didn’t allow us any opportunity to organize our defense in the first half. We did have a much improved second half in terms of our urgency and intensity, however.”
Mounsithiraj and staff were dealt another, perhaps more lasting blow after the final buzzer had sounded, as Gibson complained of significant pain in her left wrist following the match. Goshen College athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis requested an x-ray for Gibson on Wednesday, citing a possible break.
Junior defender Amy Clem would be next in line to replace Gibson in goal. Gibson has started in goal in every game since arriving on campus in the fall of 2005.
“Emmy injured her wrist during pre-game warm ups, and played through the pain without notifying our staff to the severity of the pain she was in,” said Tera Furman, Goshen assistant coach. “Losing Emmy is a big blow to our defense, because that means we lose Amy Clem in the field, and she has been one of our most consistent defenders over the last three years. However, having Amy in goal is not an issue, as she is an outstanding keeper that could do a great job. She just can’t be in two places at once. Hopefully Emmy’s injury is not as severe as what it appears to be right now.”
With or without Gibson, Goshen will next travel to perennially tough MCC foe University of St. Francis on Saturday. Match time is now slated for a 4 p.m. start. The match was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
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Freshman Heather Zimmerman