ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's soccer team took the pitch on homecoming weekend Saturday and fought Hope College to a 1-1 draw on Weaver Field.
"The turnout from the fans was incredible and certainly gave us a boost today," head coach Gary Boughton stated postgame. "I need to give them a big shoutout. I was really proud of the fight from our ladies today. We knew this was a big match and it was going to take 90 minutes of effort to get a positive result."
It is each team's second draw of the 2022 season, making Trine's record 5-3-2 and Hope 5-2-2. Both squads have a mark of 1-0-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.
The rematch of the 2021 MIAA Tournament championship game started slow, with neither team able to get the upper hand. Each side had a shot blocked by defenders in the opening 15 minutes before the Flying Dutch put one on goal. When called upon, sophomore goalkeeper Sophie Aschemeier was able to record a save on a shot from distance.
Fellow sophomore Bella Mabry found an opening less than one minute later, a play that might have been the best scoring opportunity for the Thunder in the first half, but the attempt was wide of the goal to the left.
Hope was able to utilize a wind advantage for long free kicks, and in the 41st minute, one of those would give the visitors an opportunity. Following a Trine foul, Hope sent a free kick towards the box and a would-be clearance attempt fell into the midfield, where the Flying Dutch were able to strike for the half's only goal.
After failing to produce an attempt on net in the first, senior Veronica Ocampo took a pair of shots from in front of the net, but both were turned away by the opposing keeper. In between attempts, however, Hope had a chance to extend their advantage with a penalty kick. The PK would ding off the left post and the one-goal deficit remained.
Both teams battled for control, but in the second half, the wind was with the home team and provided an edge for the Thunder. Freshman defender Darcy Satkowiak sent a free kick inside and a scramble for the loose ball allowed Trine to even things up. Hope's keeper failed to make a play on the ball, and classmate Abby Robison was there to finish the job near the net. It is Robison's fourth score of the season, a value good for second in the MIAA.
From there, the defensive unit of Andrea Wright, Rachel Hill, Olivia Argentieri and Ellie Price were able to prevent the Flying Dutch from getting another chance at a score and the result remained at 1-1. All four defenders played all 90 minutes in the draw.
In total, the Thunder were outshot 11-5, but both teams had just three shots on goal in the match. Aschemeier had saves on two shots. Corner kicks were hard to come by for both teams with a combined three set pieces. With not many chances getting to the second level of the defense, controlling the ball at the midfield was key throughout the match.
Senior captain and midfielder Olivia Butterworth had this to say on the draw, "Although it isn't the win we wanted, I'm proud of the way we handled ourselves and fought for the full 90 minutes. Now we have to turn our focus to Adrian on Tuesday."
The match versus Adrian College will take place on October 4 at home on Weaver Field beginning at 4 pm.