The SOU Women’s soccer team has their work cut out for them after losing 0-1 against Rocky Mountain College at home on Saturday. The Raiders (12-5-1 overall, 9-2 CCC) and the Bears (8-9, 5-6) struggled to score against one another throughout the game. While both teams fired many shots, neither could score on the other for the entirety of the first half.
Possession of the ball changed frequently as each team attempted to make their way to the goal. The first quarter started with the Raiders in possession. As they tried to make it down the field, SOU defender Megan Smith had the ball; with a lofted pass, she sent it flying to Megan McArthur who dribbled more than halfway down the pitch before the Bears were able steal the ball back.
SOU took a total of 16 shots with 5 shots on goal, though none were successful. It was not until the second half, almost an hour into the game, when Lauryn Gamache from Rocky Mountain scored the first and only point of the match. Aiming from the left for the right post she took a shot, succeeding despite the attempt of SOU goal keeper, Kylie Moltszen, to block it. This was the first goal scored against the Raiders at home this year, bringing an end to their 8-0 home game streak.
Despite being down a point, SOU attempted to stay in the game, applying pressure whenever they could. This resulted in the Bears racking up a total of 12 fouls to the Raiders’s 6.
In the final 7 seconds of the game, the Raiders were awarded a penalty kick from 30 yards that was taken by Presley Lambert before being kicked out of the box by the Bear’s Lia Unterholzner, who saved a total of five goals over the course of the match.
This game concludes the regular season for the Raiders. SOU will play their first game in the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament against Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Ore. On November 4th.