With the conference tournament beginning in two weeks, women’s soccer hope to maintain their current playoff position. Photo Credit: Siobhan Richards.
Fighting for playoff positioning is never easy, especially on the road.
That was the case for the University of Rhode Island Women’s Soccer team this past Sunday when they faced the University of Richmond, who were at 5th place in the Atlantic 10 standings heading into the matchup game, just a spot behind the Rams.
Unfortunately, the Rams dropped this game against the Spiders by a score of 1-0 after midfielder T.J. Anderson scored the game’s lone goal from the penalty spot in the 66th minute.
The play was set up after forward Molly Morgan drew a foul inside the 18-yard box. At the penalty spot, Anderson centered the shot past Rhode Island goalkeeper Faith Hutchins for her third goal of the season.
The Rams fought hard throughout the game despite, according to Rhode Island Women’s Soccer Coach Megan Jessee, a rather slow and flat start.
“Even with the lack of aggressiveness, the team was able to create opportunities to score and was grinding the whole game, especially towards the end, when [we] tried to tie the game,” Jessee said.
Senior defender Amanda Schafer, who also felt that the team also got off to a slow start, noted that this year’s team has a different morale compared to previous teams that she has played on.
“This team has more pride than ever before in my four years on the team,” Schafer said.
She also said that the team still has more to give as they attempt to be one of eight teams that make the conference tournament — a feat that they haven’t achieved since 2016.
The loss dropped Rhody to a tie for fifth place with University of Massachusetts Amherst with a record of 3-2-1. UMass currently holds the tiebreaker because the Minutewomen have a better overall record than the Rams.
Up next on the Rams schedule is a road game against St. Bonaventure’s — another team fighting for playoff positioning. The Bonnies currently sit a spot behind the Rams in seventh place with a conference record of 3-3.
Schafer and Coach Jessee both stated that they need to get back to how they know they can play and treat every game with the same aggression, whether it be at home or on the road.
“We need to be prepared for not only the opponent, but for the trip itself,” Schafer said. “Taking into account how long the road trip is and staying mentally focused on the task at hand.”
Both Jessee and Schafer are in high spirits as the final weeks of the season draw to a close and the team is excited to see how things play out as they continue their fight for a spot in the postseason. That all continues starting tonight at 7 p.m. when the team plays their final leg of their road trip versus St. Bonaventure. They return home on Sunday for a 1 p.m. matchup against Fordham. The home game can be streamed live on ESPN+.