BY DAN GEYER, STAFF WRITER
The St. Bonaventure women’s soccer ended its 2022, last Thursday, falling to Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne, 2-0.
The entire first half consisted of a possession battle between the Bonnies (3-8-6, 1-8-1 A-10) and the Dukes (6-5-3, 4-2-3 A-10) as both teams controlled with an occasional shot for each team.
The Bonnies had a chance to open the scoring in the 26th minute of play as McKenna Robinson took a pass from a teammate and dribbled towards the goal, only for the shot to be stopped by Maddie Nurendorfer, the Duquesne goalie. Cristina Torres also had an opportunity to open the scoring, firing a shot that resulted in a diving save in the 28th minute.
“The first half was a good half,” said Steve Brdarski, women’s soccer coach . “We did well with the game plan from a defensive standpoint. We found success going on the left side and finding McKenna.”
“ We came on with good energy for the first 45 minutes, but overall the first half went to plan. This was the third game in a row we shut the opponent out in the first half.”
The second half was a different story as Duquesne controlled possession for the entire second half as they began to attack the Bonnies goal.
The Dukes opened the scoring in the 52nd minute as Margey Brown capitalized off a corner kick and a scrum in front of the Bonnies net to give the Dukes the 1-0 lead.
Duquesne increased its lead to a pair after another scrum in front of the goal allowed Brooke Kristein to deflect the pass off a Bonnies defender and past goalie Chiara Gottinger in the 75th minute.
The Bonnies attempted a comeback as Senior forward Rachel Hutchison buried her second goal of the game off a pass from freshman defender Hannah Walker in the 86th minute. The Bonnies could get no closer as the Dukes held on for the win.
“We wanted to get crosses in against them,” Brdarski said. “We had Hannah [Walker] from Sayre, to Hutch, who is from Sayre. Great goal. We started pressing the last 18 minutes trying to get in behind them. Everything we did was behind their back. Hannah had a nice pass and Hutch capitalized on it.
The Bonnies were outshot 27-6, including 17-5 shots on goal. McKenna Robinson led the way with two shots, while Hutchison, Claire Davis, Torres and Bridget Kennedy each had a shot.
Gottinger ended the game with a new career high in saves with 15, topping the 14 she had against Richmond on Sunday.
The climb up the record books continues, as she ended the season with 163 saves. This places her third on the list for most saves in a season. The 163 saves also leads the NCAA.
“Chaira is more of a mature goalkeeper. This year she showed maturity and more competitiveness and became more aggressive throughout the season and kept us in a lot of games.” Brdarski said.
The season is over for the Bonnies, who conclude the year 3-8-6 and 1-8-1 in Atlantic 10 play.
“It was all about their fight,” Brdarski stated. “Adversity leads to resilience. The fight is taken from us. The last three games of the season we should fight and energy, some players really stepped up, Hutch scored two goals in the last three games. Amber did a good job defending dangerous players from other teams. Some things in the huddle were about relationships and how much of an honor it is to be a part of this team.”
Regarding his best moment of the season, Brdarski stated that “For me it’s a shutout on senior day with a great effort from the entire group. You never know what emotion can do to a team. It shows how resilient we were all season long.”
geyerd18@bonaventure.edu
