Lady Patriots win 1-0 at senior night game

FMU Women’s soccer team dug out a 1-0 victory over Southwestern State University on Oct. 11 at 4 p.m.

The Lady Patriots are now ranked 4-5-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC).

Before the game began, the Lady Patriots recognized their senior athletes for their time and dedication to the team.

The Lady Pats have four graduating seniors: forward Carli Gauthier, defender Jessica Garnett, defender Sierra Cartano and goalkeeper Micahla Kitchen.

Senior night is a big deal for the entire team. The underclassmen do things like decorating the locker room. Before the game, the seniors are called up and given award plaques as a token of appreciation from the FMU athletics department.

This was a great time for the seniors to share their accomplishments with their parents.

After senior recognition, the game began and the Lady Patriots came out prepared to dominate the field.

Junior midfielder Dayle McEwin refused to let their defense overpower her as she fought through and scored the only goal of the game to secure their first PBC win. This goal was McEwin’s 16th career goal and fifth team-leading goal.

“During training we always talk about staying calm, being patient and looking for corners,” McEwin said. “So when I got the ball that’s what I did.”

McEwin and Gauthier led the team with three shots apiece. Following McEwin and Gauthier, Kitchen assisted the team with three saves.

Altogether, the team had 14 shots throughout the game.

Junior forward Sarah Moll and sophomore forward Faith Allen had two shots apiece.

Following behind Moll and Allen, junior midfielder Megan Misuraca, Cartano, sophomore forward Rianna Orello and Garnett each had one shot.

The team stayed consistent on offense and defense for the entire game. Overall the team obtained five corner kicks. The team had six offsides overall.

“I think we did really well,” McEwin said. “We played together and moved the ball really well.”

The Lady Patriots didn’t score at all in the first half, but they kept pushing through and stayed consistent.

“I was proud of us for staying invested and keeping up our energy throughout the game even though we didn’t score in the first half,” Cartano said.

Cartano said energy and momentum are very important for the Lady Patriots because they depend on it to help them keep pushing when they feel tired or a little defeated.

“I saw in the middle of the first half we started to lose our momentum a little bit, but we were able to find it and come out victorious in the second half,” Cartano said.

The Lady Patriots came into the game with some very specific goals in order to secure the win.

“Our goal was to take more opportunities,” McEwin said. “We had to take ten chances and that’s what made the difference because we took a lot more chances than usual.”