Offense shows signs of life in 4-0 over Presbyterian

Stephen Hauser

Issue date: 9/23/10 Section: Sports

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Media Credit: Sonya Johnson Freshman Brittany Nomady, left, wins a volley against Presbyterian College's Emily Boggus. The Colonels shut out the Blue Hose 4-0 at home.

Media Credit: Sonya Johnson Eastern's offense scored six goals, in two games, over the weekend.

A breakout offensive performance against Presbyterian College gave the women's soccer team hope heading into their contest with the University of Detroit Mercy.

After scoring four goals, in a 4-0-shutout win, Eastern (3-4-2) pulled off a 2-1 rare road victory over the Titans (3-3-3).

And the change of pace is coming at a great time with OVC play beginning Friday.

"I'm very proud of them and the work that they put in, " Coach Lindsay Basalyga said. "I'm proud of the focus to come back after a good win on Friday and refocus themselves for a new game on Sunday."

The Colonels didn't waste any time setting the tempo of the game. Senior Alex Raich took the opening kickoff, exploiting what the defense gave them and blasted the ball into the back of the net from five yards out.

Raich said scoring the goal made her feel like the hard week of practice was worth it.

"On Friday I didn't score, (but) I guess it paid off today," she said.

The Colonels' offensive players were not satisfied with the lone goal, though, and their aggressive tempo paid off later on in the first half.

In the 42nd minute of the game, Freshman Lauren Fant added an insurance goal for the Colonels, which turned out to be an important move.

"It felt very good to score today because it was my first goal of my career," Fant said. "They (University of Detroit Mercy) are only 30 minutes from my house so it felt great."

The Titans' offense never gave up and put an enormous amount of pressure on the Colonels' defense, registering 12 shots in the second half.

In the 77th minute, the Titans made a dent in the Colonels armor. Freshman Titan Abby Mccollum, was able to put the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out.

Despite the setback, the Colonels' defensive held off the rest of the Titans' offense for victory.

The Colonels take the field again Friday against the defending OVC champion Murray State University (1-7-2).

The team members are planning to use then energy from their recent wins and the lessons learned from their losses this season to prepare for the matchup.

"We have to come out every game and work hard to get a result, " Fant said. "It's not going to be easy the whole way through."

The Racers ride a six game losing streak as they make the trip to Richmond. Murray State had an extremely tough non-conference schedule, facing teams such as the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University, Louisiana Tech University and Western Michigan University.

The Colonels have to continue to focus on some key areas if they are to be successful against the Racers and the rest of the OVC.

"I think the biggest key is to stay true to who we are as a team," Basalyga said. "We will have to stay disciplined and take care of details."

Another key area that the Colonels will have to continue to work on to be successful is game management.

"We're going to have to be able to manage the game, defend well and score," Fant said. "We cannot drop down to anyone's level and do battle the whole time."

The Colonels will have to win on the road if they wish to make a run at the OVC Championship.

The coming weekend will be a full one for the team as they welcome the Racers on Friday at 4 p.m. and then host the University of Tennessee at Martin, Sunday at 1 p.m