By Nicole Hauck
Contributing Writer
The Susquehanna women’s soccer team recorded its sixth shutout of the season by defeating Elizabethtown College 2–0 on Saturday, Sept. 22 in Selinsgrove.
“The fact that it was our sixth shutout really shows how hard we have been working. Each game we’ve made a commitment to keep the other team off the board and our defense has been really strong at doing that,” said senior forward Emily Sullivan.
“I am thrilled with the fact that we have had six shutouts thus far,” head coach Nick Hoover said. “We’ve really concentrated on being more attacking minded this season while keeping the focus on keeping the other team in front of us with sustained bouts of pressure, looking to turn them over and create opportunities to counter attack.”
Susquehanna could not get anything going offensively in the first half, but the River Hawks strong defense kept the Blue Jays off the board and only allowed two shots on goal.
Going into the second half tied 0–0, Susquehanna came back with full force. The River Hawks’ first goal was scored early in the second half by freshman forward Anna Werner after creating and setting up many scoring options for herself. It was at the 52-minute mark when she was able to get one in the net. The shot was taken from outside the box and was assisted by junior forward Julia Hutsko.
After the goal by Werner, Susquehanna began to dominate over Elizabethtown with a continued strong showing from Hutsko. The River Hawks scored their second goal of the game on a shot from Sullivan at the 83-minute mark.
The play began with Hutsko dribbling through traffic and into the middle of the field, where she passed the ball to senior forward Kate Cantrell.
Cantrell would find Sullivan, who took a deep shot that found its way to the upper left corner of the goal.
“The combination together at the end of the game was really exciting. We think there was a little bit of disbelief at first, but it was awesome that the whole sequence of the play worked out so well,” said Sullivan and Cantrell collectively.
The River Hawks also defeated Delaware Valley 2–0 in their fifth straight shutout on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Selinsgrove.
After Tuesday night’s win, Susquehanna now has seven shutouts on the season.
Junior midfielder Alee Pettit scored both goals for the River Hawks.
Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Welliver and the back line held another team scoreless.
“We’re happy but not satisfied with what we’ve been able to produce thus far. We know our best soccer is still ahead of us, and we should absolutely have scored more goals by now,” Hoover said. “As we continue forward, that will be our big area of concentration as a team.”
The women’s soccer team returns to action on the road against Moravian College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29.