Women’s soccer head coach Tanya Vogel looked at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County’s schedule and saw a gap: 12 days would pass between the Retrievers’ last game and the Colonials’ trip to Baltimore Friday night. This was a weakness to be exploited; with a certain degree of rust expected from its opponents, GW could gain an early advantage with aggressive play.
“Our number one game goal was to get after them right away,” Vogel said. “Our team failed to do that.”
Instead, she said, the Colonials lacked the necessary energy level, playing without the urgency and falling behind by a goal. GW would score only one goal in the game, earning a 1-1 tie.
After the lackluster start, Vogel used halftime as an opportunity to “very strongly” drive her point home with a fiery speech intended to light a fire under her squad. Sophomore Taryn Dietrich wasted no time showing she got the message, beating a defender off the kickoff and the goalkeeper one-on-one to even the game at one goal apiece, less than 20 seconds into the second half of play.
Dietrich was “very composed, but with the right amount of urgency,” Vogel said before calling the goal “fantastic.”
Ultimately, however, that score would prove to be the game’s last. The tie would hold throughout regulation and both overtime periods, giving GW their second draw of the year and extending their winless streak to four games.
It was the third time this season and the second in a row that the Colonials (2-3-2) had to play two overtime periods in an effort to decide the game’s outcome.
In GW’s previous tie, against Howard Sept. 6, it out-shot the Bison by an overwhelming 29-4 margin but walked away with a draw nonetheless. After both the Colonials and Retrievers took three shots apiece in Friday’s first half, GW enjoyed an 11-4 advantage in shots through the end of the game, but could not score again after Dietrich’s quick goal.
“We were pounding them,” Vogel said. “We just couldn’t get another one to fall.”
Next the Colonials will turn their attention to American, which they will host Tuesday in their final nonconference game before Atlantic 10 play begins. Vogel said that she hopes to use the game against the Eagles as a tune-up before the Colonials travel to Xavier Friday.
In the meantime, Vogel said it is time for individual players to step up and assert control of the team’s attitude and readiness when they take the field.
“This team is going to have to find a way to play every single game with the energy and intensity that it takes to win a college game,” she said.
Tuesday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
