On Tuesday, Sept. 15, in its first league match of the season, the women’s soccer team lost 3–1 to Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in a hard-fought battle.
The loss followed a 3–2 win against Bishop Ireston High School in GDS’ preseason opener on Aug. 27 and a 3–0 win against Westview High School on Sept. 5.
Visitation immediately took control of the game with their strong back line and intense offense. With a staggering seven shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, it seemed the Cubs had all the momentum.
Goalkeeper and junior Elayna Lewis had other plans. She saved all seven of Visitation’s attempts, keeping GDS in the game. But midway through the first half, Visitation took the lead with a tap-in goal off a bobbled save by Lewis.
The setback sparked new energy in the Hopper squad. With fast-paced ball movement, the team finally began to overcome their early offensive struggles and create downfield attacking opportunities for their two senior strikers, Shanez Benyoucef and Alexis Rayford. However, the Hoppers’ strong gameplay was not enough to surmount the Cubs’ aggressive and physical defense, and the Hoppers remained scoreless in the first third of the game.
With about 14 minutes left in the half, conflict arose. In a challenge for the ball, Benyoucef inadvertently kicked the Visitation goalie in the head. The clock stopped for five minutes as Veronica Ampey, assistant director of athletics for sports medicine, examined the goalie. Visitation’s goalkeeper left the game after her examination. The referees resumed the game without calling any fouls against Benyoucef, which greatly upset the Visitation players; they began to argue with the referees.
Lewis later said, “The biggest factor in the loss was negativity from the other team” after the play.
Soon after the referees resumed the game, sophomore Elise Wosinka dribbled through the Cubs’ defense and struck the ball towards the net. Visitation’s goalie inadvertently deflected the ball towards Rayford, and the senior striker, taking advantage of the unbalanced goalkeeper, punched the ball into the back of the net.
The crowd became ecstatic, and the Hoppers seemed to have all the momentum going into the second half. The game was tied 1–1.
After the half, GDS substituted junior and backup goalie Aya Akhras for Lewis. Visitation continued their aggressive press and smothering defense.
But thanks to sophomore midfielder Naomi Netter’s elusive dribbling, the Hoppers responded with a barrage of short, quick passes to move the ball up the field. (Netter is a sports reporter for the Bit.)
At the midpoint of the second half, a Visitation player penetrated GDS territory and struck the ball into the top right corner, putting Visitation up by one.
After Visitation’s second goal, the Hoppers simply were unable to recover. Senior Annie Del Guercio scored an own goal off a Visitation corner kick, and ten minutes later, the score was finalized: a 3–1 loss for the Hoppers.
“Our goals stay the same,” head coach Katie Redmond said after the loss. “Our goal is to finish in the top half of our division and host the first tournament game.”
The team’s next game is at home against School Without Walls on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m.