The No.6 Chicago women’s soccer teamsplit a pair of conference matchups over the weekend, defeating Case Western University in Cleveland on Friday afternoon and falling to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Sunday morning. The Maroons (15–2–0, 4–2–0 UAA) snapped a six-game win streak in their overtime loss to the Tartans.
In the first matchup of the weekend, Chicago and Case (6–7–4, 0–4–2 UAA) were scoreless throughalmost 90 minutes of play. With just 17 seconds left in regulation, the Maroons broke the tie with the Spartans to come away with the 1–0 victory. In the final minute, first-year midfielder Hanna Watkins sent a cross to second-year midfielder Jenna McKinney, who finished the shot and recorded her 13th goal of the season.
Last Monday, McKinney was named UAA Athlete of the Week, earning the title for the second straight week and the third time this season.She tops both the team and the UAA conference standings in goals (13), points (32), and shots (66).
Ten different Maroons took shots on Case with McKinney leadingthe way with five and third-year midfielder Mia Calamari close behind with four. Statistically, Chicago dominated in shots (20–3), shots on goal (8–1), and corner kicks (11–1).
Second-year midfielder Naomi Weiner said of the team’s performance on Friday, “The team played one of the best games we’ve played all season this weekend against Case Western. We possessed the ball for the majority of the game and took many more shots.”
On Sunday, the squad traveled to No.18 Carnegie Mellon ( 10–5–1, 4–2–0 UAA) for an overtime thriller that sent Chicago home with just its second loss of the season. Despite a strong offensive effort in the second half, the Maroons were scoreless against the Tartans at the end of regulation. The South Siders found themselves heading into overtime for the first time this year. Less than five minutes into the period, the Tartans found the back of the net at the 94:44 mark to end the game at 1–0.
In spite of the loss, the Maroons held a slight lead in shots (9–6), shots on goal (4–3), and corner kicks (7–2).
First-year goalkeeper Katie Donovan (15–2–0) saved a total of four shots over the two games and currently leads the UAA standings with a .900 save percentage. With the win at Case, Donovan increased her shutout record to eight.
Weiner said of the Sunday match, “Unfortunately, the score of a soccer game doesn’t always show which team controlled the game.”
With one game left before the NCAA tournament, Chicago hopes to bounce back from the loss at Carnegie and gain some momentum before the heading into the post season. The Maroons wrap up their regular season schedule this Saturday, traveling to No. 11 Wash U (13–2–2, 4–1–1 UAA) for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff. Wash U currently tops the UAA conference standings with 13 points, one more than UChicago and Carnegie Mellon. With a win this weekend, the Maroons are guaranteed at least a share of the UAA title.
