Women’s soccer stayed undefeated with two more wins last week, moving their record to 5-0 to start the season.
The last time a women’s soccer team on campus was 5-0 was 2015.
“This team has really great leadership. The upperclassman have a vision for what they want the program to be and are implementing it,” Head Coach Erin Saleeby said. “This team has bought into what we are doing, and it’s really fun to see and be around.”
This past week, the Panthers hosted Johnson and Wales.
The first half of the game was defensive with the score tied 0-0 going into the half.
“We didn’t do the things we needed to in the first half. We came out sluggish and didn’t put away our chances,” Saleeby said. “It definitely shows that we can turn a game around and become a better team in the second half when we need to.”
This is the only game all season where the women haven’t scored any goals in the first half. To that point the team was outscoring their opponents 8-0 in the first half through three games.
Saleeby delivered a halftime message to get her team back on track.
“The message was about having heart and work ethic. We were a little lazy in the first half,” Saleeby said. “We didn’t make huge mistakes; we just weren’t trying as hard as we could. It was a passionate talk, and they were able to come back out and get the job done.”
The team came out in the second half and was able to score two goals, finishing the shutout 2-0 in front of the home crowd.
“It’s amazing honestly,” Saleeby said about playing at home. “We feed off of the energy from the crowd, and it just boosts us when we have our fans cheering for us.”
In Saturday’s game, women’s soccer had to take their talents on the road to N.C. Wesleyan.
There was no sluggish start in this one. The team came out and scored three goals in the first 32 minutes to take a 3-0 lead into the half.
“We possessed the ball better, and we saw space in front of the forwards better,” Saleeby said about the difference of play from Johnson and Wales to N.C. Wesleyan.
The team netted two more goals in the second half and didn’t allow a goal for the second straight match, winning 5-0.
After five games, women’s soccer has outscored their opponents 21-4 in five matches.
With goals being scored at high rates, Ashli Wuss has only let four shots past her.
The junior has 25 saves in five games and has helped the team get back-to-back shutout victories.
“She’s been amazing back there,” Saleeby said. “She is a fantastic keeper, and she’s been instrumental in some of our wins for sure.”
Women’s soccer is back at home tonight at 7 p.m. to take on Southern Virginia.
Following that match, there will be two more matches before ODAC play begins.
“It’s always nice to go into ODAC play with beating some good teams and having your confidence high,” Saleeby said. “The ODAC is a different beast, but this momentum shows me that we are ready.”
