The women's club soccer team had their first home game of the season this past Saturday on McGlinn fields against Bradley University. The Irish had an unfortunate call in the 2nd minute which awarded Bradley a PK. Despite a great effort from junior goalkeeper Caroline Corsones, Bradley was up 1-0 early. Not to be discouraged, the Irish fought back and found a goal in the 3rd minute. Sophomore forward Destiny Anamege found senior forward Mary Wickert through the middle and Wickert scored to tie the game 1-1. Shortly after, sophomore midfielder Maggie Blaha played a great ball to Anamege, who finished the ball, putting the Irish up 2-1 in the 9th minute. Anamege scored again in the 10th minute, assisted again by Blaha from the outside.
Up 3-1 at half, the Irish were still not finished. In the 62nd minute, sophomore midfielder Rachel Staud played a beautiful through ball to sophomore forward Rosie Biehl who scored, putting the Irish up 4-1. Soon after, senior defender Erin Doone played a ball over Bradley's defensive line and it was Wickert who scored again in the 64th minute. To finish the game, sophomore midfielder Kimi Luttrell scored off of corner from sophomore midfielder Maddie McCormick in the 80th minute.
Fresh off the win against Bradley, the Irish traveled to Northwestern University on Sunday. The first half was marked by strong Irish possession with many offensive opportunities and great defensive posture. In the 25th minute, junior forward Jess Smetana found sophomore defender Blessing Atanmo on a corner to put the Irish up 1-0 before the half.
In the second half, the Irish scored two goals quickly in the 51st and 54th minutes, both coming from Anamege. The first goal started from freshman midfielder Sasha Meyer, who beautifully split the defense to find Anamege. Shortly after, Anamege combined with Wickert to find the third goal of the game. Unfortunately for the Irish, the Wildcats found a goal in the 89th minute from the top of the 18-yard box that was placed just beyond the reach of goalkeeper Corsones.
Overall, the Irish came out with 2 wins for the weekend with a combined 9 goals.