By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Despite a great start and a resilient finish, the St. Bonaventure women’s soccer team found itself beaten 3-2 as the majority of the contest was controlled by George Washington.
Coach Melissa Sherwood’s Bonnies snapped their barren run of goals in conference play with a goal courtesy of a 25-yard free kick from Paula Sanabria Diaz in just the fifth minute. But after a positive start, the Revolutionaries found a way to swing momentum in their favor with three unanswered goals before Hannah Walker was able to pull Bona back within one late.
Despite the loss, Sherwood was still able to find a silver lining. According to her, it is just a matter of cleaning up the small mistakes that are condemning her team to put tallies in the loss column.
“We did a lot of good things today, we had a lot of positives,” Sherwood said. “I think it was probably our best performance so far. We had a great start to the game, which shows good mentality coming off a tough loss, but also we earned it in terms of, we were getting fouled a lot, we had set pieces, we were capitalizing on them, and we had a really good finish. … But the hard lesson is, for 95% of the game, things could be going well, but then you make a little misjudgment, a little mistake, and you get punished for it. That’s the tough lesson that the players are learning. But in terms of fighting all throughout the game, we kept going.”
Scoring two goals after previously having been outscored 10-1 through four games in Atlantic 10 play was one of the biggest positives for Sherwood. But, it was the minor errors on the defensive end that led to the hosts’ downfall.
A corner kick that was not dealt with was nodded in by Julia Bilal in the 19th minute and just three minutes later, Elizabeth Cruz was able to successfully redirect a cross into the back of the Bona net for a quick lead change.
“That happens in the game in terms of the concentration at this level, the little moments,” Sherwood said. “But I think the important thing is the reaction. When you score two goals in the game, you don’t expect to be coming off of it losing. The mistakes that cost us for those goals were very costly today. We have to just keep building on the positives: we scored two goals and we did well. We just have to keep going.”
George Washington’s third goal, netted by Naomi Kim, was scored 50 minutes after its quick two-goal burst and, once again, was the result of a burst down the sideline.
The Revs were in full control of the flanks throughout the affair, but according to Sherwood, that was simply a circumstance of the tactics her and her staff employed.
“I think that was probably (a result) of our decision to press and not let them play out from the back,” Sherwood said. “You take something, you’re going to give them something else. … When you (press) you’re probably opening up spaces somewhere else, and just need to be ready for that. In terms of their goals today, one was a corner and on the other two, I didn’t think they really cut us open. So, I think we got that balance right. We just need to be better with the little details of the individual errors.”
Walker’s goal in the 85th minute gave Bona a glimmer of hope to at least come out of the game with a tie. But as the Revs drained the clock, it was not to be. Still, Sherwood has some positive things to say about her leading goalscorer in conference play.
“She’s consistent, she leads by example, and she keeps going,” Sherwood said of Walker. “She gives everything that she’s got. She’s a good role model to the team and she’s just trying to give everything she’s got because she knows this is her last season.”
The loss certainly stung, as it left Bona alone at the bottom of the A10 standings. But the message Sherwood will be delivering in the wake of defeat will be one urging her team to keep their heads up.
“We have to stay positive and keep going,” Sherwood said. “Every game is an opportunity to win and to take something. We just have to keep building. There were many positives today, and we have to take it and just learn the lessons. If you make a mistake at this level, you’re going to be punished. So we have to try to eradicate those and then, individually and collectively, just continue to try to build and progress performance after performance.”
St. Bonaventure will look to pick up its first win in conference play next time out, on the road against Fordham on Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.
