The women’s soccer team hosted Drexel University on Sunday for a 0-0 tie, despite several close goal attempts from the Leopards.
The stands were filled with Lafayette College’s very own student-athletes as the grand welcome back event at Oaks Stadium.
“The energy from the crowd was great to feed off of while playing,” senior midfielder Katrina Santelli wrote in an email. “It helped keep our playing intensity high all game, and we appreciated the support from everyone.
Santelli got to the head of the goal just four minutes into the game, but her shot skimmed just left of the cage. This was the Maroon and White’s (1-1-1 overall) only shot of the first half, as they struggled to find opportunities for the next 40 minutes.
“I saw Drexel’s outside back take their first touch backwards and recognized they were going to play it back to their keeper, so I jumped the passing lane,” Santelli wrote. “The keeper came out and I tried to tuck it back post but I hit it a bit too wide.”
As a senior, Santelli stressed the importance of the team keeping the energy levels up throughout the game.
“All of us have done a good job showing up to every game and practice so far and giving it our all,” she wrote. “I think our group this year thrives on hard fought, gritty games like this one and it was a lot of fun for us to play in.”
The Dragons tallied four shots in the first 45 minutes but were also unable to convert.
An upturn of scoring opportunities found themselves in the hands of the Leopards. During the 49th minute of the game, junior midfielder Heather Plowright punted a fast ball towards the cage that was blocked by the Drexel goalkeeper. Junior midfielder Ava Murphy attacked the net once again in the 72nd minute but was denied with another save.
Both teams held down the fort defensively, maintaining the pace of the game as neither could push the ball across before the final whistle.
The game concluded with seven recorded shots for the Leopards, while the Dragons had 11. The Leopards’ offense was led by Plowright with two shots.
Sophomore goalkeeper Catherine Apker played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded six saves, earning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Apker recorded her second shutout of the season.
The Leopards will travel to Texas A&M University (2-0-2 overall) to take on the Aggies on Sunday.
“We’ve been focusing on more tactical work this week and have been training our different pressing schemes,” Santelli wrote. “The quality of our training sessions has been really high so far this season.”