The women’s soccer team concluded its season in the Patriot League semifinals with a 4-0 loss against top-seeded Boston University last Thursday.
The Leopards (3-3-3 Patriot League, 5-8-7 overall) looked to keep the momentum going following their quarterfinal win in penalty kicks against Holy Cross.
“Those moments really showed our team’s grit and made that Holy Cross win so much more meaningful going into BU,” sophomore midfielder Emma Harmon said.
Throughout the first half, both teams struggled to get their offenses rolling. Neither team put up a score in the first 45 minutes, going into the half knotted with zeros.
“We had a lot of huge plays made by not only our back line, but also our goalkeeper,” junior midfielder Nadia Zaffanella said about the first-half defense. “Keeping a clean sheet definitely kept us in the game for longer than if we had given up goals early in the first half.”
The Leopards kept up with Boston (7-1-1 Patriot League, 11-5-3 overall) with an even 5-5 shots in the first period, with two of them on goal. Junior midfielder Heather Plowright had two, alongside freshman midfielder Era Methoxa and seniors forward Katrina Santelli and midfielder April McDonald with one.
Coming out of the half, the Terriers began to bark. In the 56th minute, a Terrier attacker broke away from the Lafayette defense and sent a low ball past junior goalkeeper Catherine Apker to break the scoring drought.
In the 68th minute, the Terriers were able to find the back of the net again to make the score 2-0. Just three minutes later, the Terriers kept the scoring train going, adding another goal to their lead.
The fourth and final goal for the Terriers came in the 86th minute. Harmon was the lone Leopard to get a shot off in the period, with the team being outshot 11-1.
As a part of the first team in six years to qualify for the playoffs — and the first in nine to reach the semifinals — Harmon said she was “proud” of the Leopards’ season.
“We continuously embraced the pressure and showed up in big moments,” Harmon said.
The Terriers would go on to fall 3-2 to Army in the Patriot League championship on Sunday.
Different Leopards also earned individual awards for their performance this season, including Zaffanella, who earned first-team All-Patriot League honors. Santelli also earned second-team All-Patriot League recognition.
“I was really grateful to be awarded with those two postseason awards,” Zaffanella said. “I was really appreciative of the role I played this season, and just think that that’s something that I want to push for again next year.”
Both Zaffanella and Harmon expressed excitement when looking forward to next season.
“We set a standard for ourselves of how we want to carry ourselves throughout the pre-season,” Harmon said. “I think all of those factors are something that we’re going to put into stone and use to better ourselves and to make it even further next year.”