By Gavin Lindahl
Sports Assignment Editor
It was a disappointing weekend for Bona’s women’s soccer this past weekend as the squad dropped both matches to open Atlantic 10 conference play against Davidson University and Richmond University.
The weekend started with a 2-0 loss to Davidson Friday night in which the Bonnies outshot their opponent but couldn’t find the back of the net. According to Coach Steve Brdarski, this is something he’s been emphasizing all season long.
“We lost focus. Not only did we outshoot them, but we outplayed them,” Brdarski said. “They took advantage of their opportunities, and we didn’t. It all comes down to execution; it doesn’t matter how you did it, how well you did it or where you did it – they took care of their opportunities, and they won it.”
After being shut out at home, the Bonnies played the Spiders, currently sitting at fourth in the A-10, in Richmond last Sunday and were met with even more grief as they were shut out a second time, but this time were bested by a 5-0 scoreline. Three of Richmond’s goals came within a minute of each other early in the second half.
According to Brdarski, Richmond’s talent shouldn’t be discounted when looking at the Bonnies’ dropped match.
“As a coach, you can write up a ton of different excuses, but at the end of the day, that’s a really good Richmond team,” Brdarski said. “They had three players who played up top; I’d venture to say that we have not faced three forwards like that all year long. It was one of those games where we didn’t play at the level we’re capable of. Credit to them, credit to the players that they have, but we’re just going to move on from there.”
Last weekend’s games make it all the more clear that what Brdarski has been saying since early September is true: the team needs to find the back of the net more often. The Bonnies have only been able to score two or more goals in a match three times in 12 games this season.
“We need to score goals,” Brdarski said. “It sounds simple to say, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be put into it. We can play defense all we want. If we could’ve taken away two plays from Davidson, it would’ve been a tie, and I think that’s fair. But you have to put yourself in the driver’s seat because you won’t win games unless you do.”
The Bonnies, who are currently sitting last in the A-10, will look to rebound against Duquesne tomorrow afternoon at 1. Duquesne, fifth in the A-10, will offer the Bonnies an opportunity to collect some much needed points before resuming conference play on October 17.
Before that, however, the Bonnies will play Cornell at 6 p.m. next Monday at home. Although Brdarski admits that the teams focus is all on Duquesne, the Cornell game will offer the squad a chance to play a non-conference opponent and perhaps get some wind back in their sails.
lindahg12@bonaventure.edu
