MacKenzie Cowley hung back as her coach and teammates answered questions about the season, how the defense would fill in for graduated stars, who would handle certain duties during set pieces, how certain injuries were progressing.
But she was the woman of the hour. Cowley scored the Colonials’ first two goals in a 3-0 win over ECU in the team’s home opener Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a really good start for me,” Cowley said. “My goal is to score as much as I can for this team so to come out for this first game with two, at home, is a really big start for me. And it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Cowley said that her goal is to score a double-digit number of goals this season. After netting GW’s lone goal in the team’s loss to Cal State Fullerton a week before, Cowley got her second of the season off a through ball from senior Kristi Abbate.
“That was our game plan, to make a run out wide and have them play it over the top,” Cowley said. “I saw the opportunity. Sarah [Barnes] was right! It was right on there and then I just made sure I took my touch inside towards the goalie and then just scored from there.”
Her third came off a corner kick, which Cowley said she’d been practicing “forever.” She positioned herself in front of the goalie and lept for the ball, following through on her header to bypass ECU’s goalie, who got a hand on the ball but fumbled it.
The Colonials took advantage of set pieces, getting Cowley’s goal off a corner and their final score off a penalty kick taken by senior Emily Brown.
GW took 10 corners in the game, handled primarily by senior Brooke Stoller. Though Stoller is tall and could be an asset in the box, as several of her shots sailed over the heads of her teammates, Barnes said that she will receive most of the corner-kicking duties due to her technical skills.
Redshirt sophomore Miranda Horn started in goal over Ellen Conway. She wasn’t tested frequently, as the Pirates struggled to convert possession time into legitimate chances, but was always in the right place when she was. Horn collected three saves before Conway came in in the 76th minute. Conway closed out the shutout with one save.
Despite the lack of senior defender Brooke Bean, who was injured in the Fullerton game, the backline was solid. Barnes said she’d scouted ECU’s attack as the team’s primary weapon and was pleased with the shutout. GW tallied six shots while ECU launched nine, but both teams had four on goal.
“The back four were spectacular I thought,” Barnes said. “The goalkeeping was strong and honestly I thought the two holding mids in front really made their day a lot easier as well.”
Starting along with Abbate, Horn, Cowley, Brown and Stoller were freshmen Sofia Pavon, Mia Barreda and Dani Frese, sophomore Annika Johnson, junior Lina Proska and redshirt senior Nicole Belfonti.
Players switched lines and sides, and Barnes said that she plans to swap players frequently to keep the team fresh throughout the season and to play the best lineup against each scouting report.
“We’re trying to make sure that we’re maximizing so that when we get to the NCAA Tournament we’re striking on all cylinders rather than being depleted and losing power and all that stuff,” Barnes said. “So it’s really about trying to use the depth to your advantage.”
The Colonials next game comes on Friday, again at home, when the team takes on Drexel at 3 p.m.
