By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — For the first time in the Melissa Sherwood era, the St. Bonaventure women’s soccer team has recorded back-to-back wins.
Both coming at home, and both coming in a span of four days, the Bonnies now have wind in their sails as they wrapped up their non-conference portion of the schedule with a 2-0 win over Oakland. A result that Sherwood knows is all-important considering there were some other non-conference games that her side were left ‘disappointed’ with. Also, a fact to consider is that she has a relatively fresh squad, one that will be looking to grow together on the eve of Atlantic 10 play.
“Obviously, it’s the last game of non-conference and being a new team with so many new players and new coaches and everything we really needed to come together,” Sherwood said. “Most opponents that we’re playing against, they’ve already been together for at least a season. We’ve literally been together, I think this is the end of Week Seven. It’s going to take time. … Getting the win on Thursday and then following that up with a back-to-back win today, it’s nice to get those wins at home. I think it’s just a natural process, accumulation of (progress), they’re getting a little bit more into sync, which is important because next week we move into conference play, which is the most important.”
Bona started out the win over the Golden Grizzlies in a similar fashion to how they began their win over LIU on Sept. 11, with an early goal.
On Bona’s first corner of the game, Paula Sanabria Diaz headed a ball back into a dangerous area, where Giovanna Coghetto was lying in wait, poking home from close range. For Coghetto, it was her team-leading fifth goal of the season, and an all-important one as after the goal, the Bonnies’ grip on matters began to fade.
As the game progressed, Oakland was able to find a foothold and began applying significant pressure of its own. Fortunately, Sherwood’s defense was able to hold firm, thwarting a number of attacking opportunities for the Golden Grizzlies before a shot was taken, leading to a second consecutive clean sheet.
“Defending takes all of us, it’s a team effort,” Sherwood said. “That was good to see in terms of organization and the team being able to adapt. It’s pleasing to get the clean sheets, especially to get back-to-back clean sheets, because we’re not naive, we know that when we get into the A10 Conference we’re going to do more defending than attacking. So, that’s something that’s going to be really important to us. We need to be comfortable and organized when we don’t have the ball, and still be able to be in games and control games, even though maybe we don’t have possession.”
But unlike in their game against the Sharks, the Bonnies were able to net a second, solidifying the win, with just 13 minutes left in regulation.
In the second half, Bona’s chances on the Oakland goal were few and far between, meaning it was all the more important that they took their chances when they came. That was the case for Hannah Lindenberger, who scored on the back of yet another corner that was left undealt with by the visitors. In a similar fashion to her team’s first goal of the afternoon, Lindenberger tapped home after Jolie Bull put a ball back into a dangerous area after a bit of confusion in the penalty area.
“Last game, it was 1-0, so (when we got) towards the end of the game it was far more stressful,” Sherwood said. “(We had) a little bit more breathing space today, but still things to learn from. Also, a positive is that we score from set pieces. Adding that into our artillery is going to be important for us, because gearing up to A10 Conference play, we know that we’re going to, on average, have less chances in games than we have in the non-conference. So the players need to be ready for that and be sharp when the chances come.”
There is a vigor about this Bona women’s soccer team, a conclusion that can be drawn simply from their, now consecutive, postgame victory celebrations. For Sherwood, this is a positive sign. After an up-and-down stretch of five straight road games, her side returns home, grabs two wins and, as she noted, are starting to find a groove.
“It’s the second week into class, they’re getting into their rhythm, and also having the home games, staying home all week certainly appears to have helped them,” Sherwood said. “It’s always nice when you can make your home ground a fortress. … We don’t want people to enjoy coming here. We want them to come here with fear and not want to be up for the game. So we have to really make this our field and make it a fortress.”
St. Bonaventure women’s soccer honored Jael Schubert (28), Kellsie Flint (23) and Hannah Walker (20) for senior day prior to its win over Oakland. (St. Bonaventure Athletics)
Making the win on the day that much sweeter was that it was senior day for the Bonnies, who honored Hannah Walker, Kellsie Flint and Jael Schubert along with eight graduate students ahead of the matchup. A trio that has been, and will continue to be, at the center of this Bona team as it gets set to take on the A10.
“Those three are ones that are a continuity of the previous group, and it’s important (to have them), because we don’t have too many returners,” Sherwood said. “They can help all the new players in terms of meshing our new culture together. … The team has got a very good culture, and it’s important that we keep pushing that for the rest of the season, because it’s nice and easy when you’ve won today. But today’s a high, I’m sure there’ll be some lows around the corner, and we have to keep ourselves grounded. That’s when their leadership and influence will be really tested.”
St. Bonaventure’s first A10 game is set for Sept. 21 at 1 p.m., when it will play host to VCU.
