As the regular season winds down, the St. Bonaventure women’s soccer team is making a push toward the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Every remaining game is important, and they are making every effort to get positive results in the win column.
The good news for the lady Bonnies is that they are peaking at the right time. The Bonnies have won two of their last three games and are feeling confident as the regular season concludes next week.
The Bonnies came out strong in the first half. Coach Steve Brdarski said that it was “the best 45 minutes of soccer we’ve seen for the whole year.”
Thirty-one minutes into the game, sophomore Kacie Filian headed one in to put the Bonnies ahead 1-0. The Bonnies out-shot University of Rhode Island seven-to-three in the first half, along with dominating corner kicks, five-to-one.
Filian was the lone player to put the ball in the back of the net the entire game, as the Bonnies finished off URI with a 1-0 win. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Malcolm completed the game with two saves, being her third shutout of the year.
Just three days later, the Bonnies would head to the nation’s capital to take on the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic 10, George Washington.
The Colonials came out early, scoring two quick goals in the first 25 minutes. The Bonnies bounced back in the second half, as Kacie Filian scored yet again to bring the game within one. The Bonnies controlled the second half, as they were the only team to score and had both more shots and corner kicks during the last 45 minutes
The Bonnies fell 2-1, but Brdarski believes the Bonnies confidence is headed in the right direction.
“Our last three games are all confidence boosters. Our confidence keeps growing, growing, and growing,” said Brdarski.
Filian agreed with her coach, saying “I believe we are playing our best soccer right now. We are showing that we can battle with anyone in the conference right now.”
While Filian has scored in back-to-back games for the Bonnies, Brdarski said it’s not just what you see in the stats how much impact Filian has had on the team.
“She’s winning so many balls in the air. It’s allowing us to keep the ball pinned in the other teams half a lot of times,” Brdarski said. “What’s unique about it is it’s not five, six or seven times. She’s winning the ball with her head 16, 17, 18 or 20 times a game.”
Brdarski compared Filian’s play to St. Bonaventure men’s basketball sophomore Osun Osunniyi and his uncanny ability to block shots.
“I would equate it to the way people talk about Osun and the blocks that he has,” Brdarski said. “She’s winning balls in the air. That takes a lot of pressure off our team and allows us to do different things on the field.”
The Bonnies are sitting at a 6-9-1 overall record, including a 2-5-1 (seven points) conference record. The Bonnies are currently 12th in the A10, but they are just three points away to moving into a tournament spot. With the top eight spots moving onto the A10 Tournament, the Bonnies know that these last two games are extremely important.
When asked if he believes the Bonnies could make the A10 Tournament, Brdarski was quick to respond.
“Without a doubt,” he said. “There’s a lot to play for. One of the things we love going into the last week of the season: we are in this position. We’re blessed to be able to accept a lot of pressure that goes into this week. The last two previous years we weren’t in this position. While we are playing for pride, we are also playing with the implications of being able to go the tournament.”
The Bonnies will play at home against George Mason in the final regular season game Sunday afternoon.
“If we play 90 minutes strongly… it’s only going to be good things for us.” said Brdarski.
Tom Seipp, Contributing Writer
seipptw19@bonaventure.edu
