Wright State goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy was busy in the Raiders’ 0-0 stalemate against Western Michigan Thursday evening marking WSU’s home opener.
McCurdy notched nine saves in Thursday’s contest and nearly gave the Raiders the game’s lone goal in the final two minutes of regulation. The goal was waved off and despite 52 combined attempts on goal in 110 minutes of play, neither team successfully scored a goal.
After weathering a tough first half, the Raiders were firing on all cylinders in the second. McCurdy thought she scored her first collegiate goal from a free kick in the 89th minute from 60 yards out. The goal was negated due to a Raider interfering with Bronco goalkeeper Michelle Watson.
“I thought I scored a goal,” McCurdy said. “I just saw the ball go into the net, cheered, and spun around. And then when he blew the whistle, and spun around again.”
The Raiders have a 2-1-2 record in 2013 and go back on the road Sunday for a showdown against Iowa.
The Broncos controlled play for most of the first half, outshooting the Raiders 14-5 through 45 minutes. Raiders head coach Patrick Ferguson was frustrated with how his team came out in the first half.
“The first half, we were terrible,” Ferguson said. “I was really proud of our girls in the second half, they played their hearts out and did a good job.”
McCurdy made five saves in the first half against the Broncos’ offense.
“We came out flatter than we should have,” McCurdy said. “We cleaned it up in the second half.”
Besides McCurdy’s scoring opportunity, the Raiders had a number of other chances in the second half. Mackenzie Hamilton came off the bench in the 70th minute and nearly fired one past a diving Watson. Hamilton was among five bench players who helped energize the Raiders in the second half.
“It is a lot easier to get aggressive when everyone is moving and we’re talking, it is a lot easier to play faster and better,” WSU defender Liz Soto said.
The spark off the bench was exactly what Ferguson was looking for after the sluggish start.
“The great thing about the kids coming off the bench was they obviously want to play the entire game,” Ferguson said, “but if I ask them to go out and play 12 minutes, they will play their hearts out for 12 minutes.”
