Women's Soccer | Caitlin Shatsby | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State women’s soccer is at its strongest in the Horizon League since 2009, as the Raiders move to a 3-0 record in conference after a 4-1 beatdown over the Green Bay Phoenix.
The match
The game occurred on Alumni Field on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
Coming into the match, the Green Bay team had not given up a goal or scored itself, tying in both conference games so far; the Phoenix pressed the Raiders from the start, trying to force a WSU defensive mistake.
WSU had an advantage from the beginning, however, as the Raiders spread the field, positioned players behind the ball on attack and put dangerous balls into the box.
The Raiders held possession well through defenders with starting goalkeeper Jessika Seward controlling the ball in the defensive third. Phoenix goalkeeper Annie Mason gave up the ball several times.
“We’ve really been working on the last couple of weeks about making sure we get numbers behind the ball and that we compete on both sides of the ball when we do get a chance,” Head Coach Travis Sobers said.
Due to this possession, it did not take long for the Raiders to strike gold. Lauren Borchert found space outside the 18-yard box and put a powerful ball over Mason. This is Borchert’s third goal in three home games.
From there, the Raider team did what it does best: get the ball out wide and force a ball either into the box or out for a corner. These set pieces created great opportunities, as Lena Jenssen scored from a corner kick and Elise Canter capitalized on a crashing rebound off the post.
“Keep an eye out for Lauren, she’s going to try to finish from anywhere,” striker Olga Massombo said. “And Elise also, we’re trying to find players in-between and always trying to find them.”
Finally, Massombo confidently charged forward through five defenders, took on Josie Krupp with a 1-2 and drilled a ball into the bottom corner for a 4-1 finish.
Since 2009
This season’s women’s soccer team has brought new life to the program in recent matches, beating Milwaukee for the first time in seven years and jumping to a 3-0 conference record, its best since 2009.
The Raiders have not made it past the first round of the Horizon League tournament since 2017 and did not make it to the tournament in the past two seasons. With a 3-0 start and a deep bench of players ready to step up, the WSU team may have a shot to go for the tournament title this year.
“We do have that deep bench that can come in and step up, and they have the same level as the starting lineup,” Seward said.
The next Raider home game is Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. against the Cleveland State Vikings.
