An 84th minute penalty kick spoiled St. Bonaventure’s women’s soccer team’s Atlantic 10 opener at Fordham, proving to be too much to overcome the Bonnies lost 1-0. The loss dropped the Bonnies to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in the A10. Fordham improved to 2-6-2 overall and 1-0 in the A10 as of printing.
The decisive penalty was given after a ball was put into play off a corner kick. The ball then was shot by Fordham midfielder Hope Baisley and hit in the shoulder area. Margaret Roughley went on to convert the penalty kick. Both Brdarski and senior goalkeeper Lauren Malcolm did not think the penalty was justified.
“To be honest, from my point of view, it didn’t seem like a blatant handball,” Malcolm said. Brdarski added, “We think the call is a questionable call. At the end of the day, I can live with a lot of different things. I think at the end of the day as a program we can live with a lot of different things. But obviously that’s a cruel way to see the game go like that.”
Malcolm finished the game with five saves.
Although Brdarski was disappointed in the outcome, there were positives to take from the game.
“It’s really hard to win soccer games on the road,” Brdarski said. “I think we put ourselves in the position where we had some great opportunities and it was deflating from that regard, but we picked ourselves up and we are ready to go.”
Malcolm was happy with how the team responded to Fordham’s late goal.
“There was definitely a high intensity.” Malcolm said. “I think everyone was on the same page to do what it takes.”
Both Malcolm and Brdarski said the start of the A10 season provides an opportunity for the team as every team in the conference starts at 0-0.
“Your whole season is built up and you start off with a 0-0 record in the A-10 no matter what your non-conference record was. It’s a different kind of pressure. Every point counts in the A10,” Malcolm said.
Last year, the women’s soccer team played in eight overtime games, only winning one. This year the team has not had a single come-from-behind victory. Brdarski said the team has played well enough in the past, but the team didn’t score.
“It is just a matter of materializing it into a goal scoring opportunity and getting the goal and getting back into the game,” Brdarski said.
Malcolm said the team has a tendency to break down after a goal is scored against them.
“Sometimes we do struggle if we do score early or if another team scores early sometimes we break down,” Malcolm said.
Coach Brdarski is confident his team can come out of the game with a win. Energy and hard work are keys to the game according to Brdarski. Brdarski also credited his whole staff, including the team’s two assistant coaches and three team managers, in helping prepare the team for success.
Bryce Kelley, Contributing Writer
seipptw19@bonaventure.edu
