By Alden Detmer, X: @AldenDetmer
The George Washington women’s soccer team (2-2-2) fell 2-0 to the Towson Tigers (2-2-2) in a defensive battle on Sept. 7.
The Revolutionaries drop their second loss after getting out to a hot start this season.
“There was a better team today,” GW Women’s Soccer Coach Jeremy Williams said. “They played at a faster pace, a faster speed of thought. Everything was elevated. From my standpoint, the better team won, and we didn’t do enough at the end of the day. I thought the fight was good, especially after the first half, which was a little bit disappointing for our standard.”
The Tigers got out to an early start with a shot off the crossbar in the 10th minute. Towson kept up the pressure and was awarded a corner kick, resulting in an 11th-minute goal for Emma Levin, her first-ever collegiate goal.
In the 15th minute, Amelia Booth delivered a powerful cross into the box, but the Revolutionaires were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Towson doubled its lead off a counter attack in the 27th minute. Towson’s Kale’a Perry dribbled all the way to the end line and lost the ball to GW’s Alex Caldwell. Caldwell then booted the ball out of the box, but Towson Midfielder Sophie Thibeault was able to reach the backspinning ball first. She then found a wide-open Sydney Feiler to finish off the play.
“I thought we weren’t good enough in a lot of transitional situations,” Williams said. “We didn’t do a good enough job to maintain possession, and when we did have the ball, our movement off the ball wasn’t quick enough.”
GW trailed 2-0 at the half. Following the break, the Revolutionaries looked re-energized but could not find the back of the net. Goalkeeper Kate Silverstein worked to prevent any further damage, racking up three saves. Coming into Sunday’s contest, junior defender Julia Bilal sustained an injury and was replaced by midfielder Rose Vigran. Caldwell said there were still positives to pull away from today’s match despite the result.
“We didn’t get beaten with speed that much, which was our priority coming into today,” Caldwell said. “After every goal, we met and [said], ‘We need to calm down. This doesn’t mean we are going to lose the game.’ I would say our team was pretty down, but at halftime, Sophia [Broz] and Coach [Williams] helped to hype us back up. We need to work really hard in practice this week and continue to keep the pace really, really high.”
Coach Williams agreed with the notion of practicing hard. “It’s all about how you train,” Williams said. “If you train at 75% of what you’re capable of, it can be enough in some games. In others, like today, it’s not enough. We have to do a better job executing under pressure at a quick pace. We don’t wanna burn the kids out, but we have to make sure we train at 100%.”
The game also marked the first of five promotions supporting Go Play DC’s Youth Sports For All program, with members and participants honored at halftime. The Revolutionaries will look to bounce back against the Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 11.
