The second-seeded Blue and White women’s soccer team lost to third-seeded LIU Brooklyn 1-0. This matchup was the Northeast Conference (NEC) semifinal which was played on DeGol Field in Loretto, P.A. on Friday November 4. The Hawks ended their season with this loss and with an overall record of 10-7-2; this was MU’s seventh straight season with double-digit victories.
The Hawks fell behind in the game early after conceding a goal in the fifth minute, in this rematch of last year’s semifinal in the NEC. As the second half began, the Blue and White were putting the pressure on LIU Brooklyn by dominating the half. But their efforts would fall just short as they lost 1-0. MU played in their league-leading 15th tournament game and they outshot the Blackbirds by 8-5 overall, with a staggering 7-2 advantage in the second half.
In the beginning of the season, MU was faced with some difficult times. They had some injuries and had brought in a new rotation of players, but head coach Krissy Turner knew exactly what to do and how to spark her team. Even with the lack of familiarity and their inexperience, the Blue and White still had an excellent season. “We have a fairly young team in the back, we are starting basically two freshmen and three sophomores, as far as our goalkeeper and our backs. We’ve been switching a lot of things, I think this is maybe our third match in a row with the same starting lineup.” Turner explained.
The Hawks started off the non-conference season slowly by beginning with a 1-4 record. They faced many tough teams in their opening portion of their schedule; including Rutgers and Seton Hall, in which they lost both games by a score of 3-0. “Rutgers was ranked 16th in the country last week, so obviously they are a good team and then Seton Hall was ranked in the region last week and we’ve played pretty good teams and I’m not just sure that we were just ready for that challenge because of our inexperience,” Turner said.
However, the Hawks would turn their season around by growing stronger as a team. MU then won six of their next seven games, to improve their record to an impressive 7-4-1. During that stretch they played some close games including two that went into overtime against Lehigh and Rider. The Blue and White would defeat Lehigh 2-1 and draw versus Rider 1-1.
As the Hawks finished their non-conference schedule with a record of 7-4-1, they then turned their attention to the NEC. MU would start off 4-0 in conference play, beating Central Connecticut State, Bryant, Robert Morris and Quinnipiac.
After starting off undefeated in the NEC, the Hawks would lose their next game to Sacred Heart 2-1. This loss ended their impressive winning streak. However, MU would bounce back, as they seem to have done all season long, by winning three of their next five games. The regular season was now over, and with a record of 7-2-1 in the NEC, the Blue and White now looked towards the playoffs to reach their goal as conference champions.
Even though the Hawks were eliminated in the playoffs, they took great strides with their team and should feel completely confident about their chances next year. If MU would like to complete their dream of winning the NEC they need to improve on their defense. “Defending, you’ve got to defend we’ve got to shut them down,” Turner said.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
