Updated: Oct. 16, 2016 at 10:54 p.m.
This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Marty Fenn.
After women’s soccer honored the alumni from their 1996 NCAA Tournament team Sunday afternoon, the 2016 squad made their own statement by overpowering Richmond 2–1 with a dazzling offensive display.
The Colonials (10–4–1, 4-1-1 A-10) dominated play in the middle of the field, utilizing a variety of link-ups and touch-and-go passes to spring senior forward MacKenzie Cowley and the midfielders on the wings.
Cowley notched her ninth goal of the year, and sophomore defender Dani Frese found the back of the net for her first points of the year. Junior forward Brittany Cooper was particularly strong on the ball, shrugging off defenders and making passes to the wide areas.
Cooper found an opening in the 21st minute, muscling past a Richmond defender and firing a shot on net. She was unable to beat the keeper, but the Colonials continued to pepper the offensive third with constant possession and chances on goal leading up to Cowley’s goal in the 36th minute.
Freshman midfielder Deena DeSilva held the ball in the middle until playing a deft pass to senior midfielder Lina Proska, who pivoted and found Cowley alone in the center of the box. Cowley controlled the pass and squared up before skillfully using the outside of her foot to send the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
“The goalie was taking away the far post, so I wanted to go near [post],” Cowley said. “I couldn’t really get my leg around the ball so I just decided to chip it around and it worked out.”
The Colonials continued to press as the half wore on, building possession offensively and spacing the Richmond defenders out wide. The back line of the Colonials held the ball in until the midfielders showed to the ball. Such was evident in the buildup to the second goal, which translated from defense to offense in a flash.
Frese began the move, keeping possession until stretching the field with a long pass to redshirt junior Erin Boudreau, who switched the play back to senior defender Kate Elson.
Freshman forward Annie Pierce then played a give-and-go with Elson on the right edge of the box before flicking a deflection over the top of two Richmond defenders.
Frese ran onto the ball all the way from her right back position, calmly slotting the ball into the bottom left corner. It was a true team goal that defined GW’s offensive possession all game.
“[Richmond] is the kind of team that plays man-to-man,” Proska said. “It gives us the opportunity to drag defenders out and play the ball up to Kenz and then we can do one-twos and attack them there.”
The Spiders (7–7–1, 2–4–0 A-10) pressed the Colonials for the entirety of the second half and found their way onto the scoreboard in the 90th minute.
However, it wasn’t enough, as GW’s defensive shape held up to give the Colonials their third straight conference victory.
GW could be dealt a potential setback on the defensive line, as Frese was forced to leave the game after taking a deflection off the face. Should she have to miss time, the rest of the women’s squad will have to step it up to close out the season strong.
While the Colonials have dominated at home (7–1–0), they have struggled on the road (3–3–1) – something Barnes is hoping to change as the Colonials play two of their final four games away.
“We have to go in with a very ‘workman’ type of attitude and be very focused on execution,” Barnes said. “If we can do that, then I think those games will be very much in our hands.”
GW will travel to the Bronx to face Fordham on Thursday before returning home next Sunday to host George Mason.
