By Mike Schultes & Eric Goldwein
Photo Courtesy of George Stone
Despite the losing streaks and heartbreaking defeats, the seniors on the Lafayette Women’s Soccer Team say their journey has been well worth it. But they haven’t quite yet reached their destination.
The Leopards (4-2-1), entering the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 2 seed, are two victories away from a Patriot League Championship – a feat that has never been accomplished in school history. Lafayette begins the tournament with an 8:00 p.m. match against Navy (4-2-1) in Hamilton, N.Y.
The women—ranked second to last in preseason polls—could pull off one of the greatest comeback stories in Lafayette history with a pair of victories.
“I think we have a great shot to do some really great things this weekend,” said defender Gina Milone ‘12.
Soccer in November is a new thing for the seniors, who were winless in their first three Patriot League campaigns. In their first two seasons, they were outscored 33-1 in 14 league games, all losses. It wasn’t until last season where they saw glimpses of success, earning three draws against league opponents.
Through all the tough stretches, the seniors stuck it out through thick and thin.
“When our record was rough,” midfielder Shannon Neschke ‘12 said, “it was definitely the fact that we couldn’t see ourselves anywhere else but with our teammates for most hours of the day, as crazy as they may be. That kept us all together and on the team.”
“We’re in a place where we think we belong, and we do belong here,” Milone said. “At the end of the day, I love being around the team and I knew that someday we’d make it to where we are now.”
While the team relies on contributions from younger players, the seniors picked up their play this season. They have accounted for six of the team’s 14 goals, including a team-high four goals from midfielder Janelle Pierson ‘12. Last season, the class of 2012 tallied only two goals.
“A lot of the seniors stepped up and started being more offensive,” midfielder Natalie Stone ‘12 said, “like Janelle stepped up and scored a bunch of goals.”
“The senior class has made a really big difference this year,” Neschke added, “in that it’s all about the team and putting egos to the wayside and just getting it done.”
“Knowing that these people are my best friends,” Milone said, “we all really wanted to get the team going in a better direction [and] prove that we could succeed.”
They credited much of the success to the underclassmen and to Head Coach Mick Statham, who earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.
They also said the team’s close-knit environment has played a role in the turnaround.
“We really don’t care about individual stats,” midfielder Meredith McCann ‘12 said. “It’s more about everyone making each other better.”
Lafayette faces its greatest challenge tonight against Navy in Hamilton, where temperatures will be below freezing. Lafayette defeated Navy 1-0 in early October, with Pierson scoring the game-winner.
“Navy is a really good team,” Milone said. “It was a very competitive game that could have gone either way.”
Colgate (4-1-2) will square off against No. 4 Army (3-1-3) at 5:00 p.m., prior to Lafayette’s match. Colgate and Army met in a 1-1 draw when they played a month ago.
The winners of the semi-final matches will play on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for the championship.