Lindenwood’s women’s soccer team dropped their most recent game to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Thursday night, by a score of 3-0.
The beginning of the game was delayed an hour due to lightning and rain showers in the area.
“Obviously, it wasn’t ideal for the game to start so late, especially with most of us having early classes in the morning, but our team remained positive,” Hannah Scholer said. “I think if anything we were more prepared because we did not want it to affect our attitudes. We spent the time during the delay playing team games, so the time went by fast.”
The Lions came out of the gate strong, holding the Golden Eagles scoreless throughout the first half of the game.
Lindenwood played a player down after the 16th minute of a game, as sophomore Reece Ward pulled a red card, and was removed from the game.
Senior goalie Erika Anstine kept Tennessee Tech at bay during the first half, saving a total of five shots on goal during the half, which sent the game to halftime scoreless.
“I think the red card changed the game drastically. For the first 15 minutes of the game, we had most of the possession and looked like the better team,” Scholar said. “We were able to defend for the remainder of the first half but going 75 minutes with a player down is difficult. It became a defensive game after the card because of the difficulty to get numbers up when you have a player down.”
In the second half, however, it was Tennessee Tech that came out strong, scoring three goals in the period, all three of which were within the first 15 minutes.
The Golden Eagles received two goals from midfielder Meredith Nye, and one more from fellow midfielder Bailey Taylor. Each of the goals was scored within the 50 to 60-minute mark of the game, and both teams went scoreless from there on out.
The Lions had solid defense throughout the second half, as Anstine recorded four more saves, giving her a total of nine for the game. Lindenwood received two shots throughout the game, one by graduate student Hannah Scholer, and another by senior Lauren Tyson, the latter of which came as a shot on goal.
“My team did a good job at possessing the ball and getting into the attack in the first 15. After the card, despite the results, my team was optimistic and held their heads high,” Scholar said. Most teams would start yelling at each other and blaming each other for mistakes, but I am thankful to play for a team that has such good culture. I think my biggest takeaway that I can apply to the rest of the season is that anything can happen during a game, and you can either let it affect you mentally or you can roll with the punches.”
The Lion’s scoreless effort marks their second consecutive shutout loss, and their third in four games. The team is now on a four-game losing streak, with their last win coming on Aug. 31 against Murray State University. Lindenwood now sees its season record at 2-6-1.
The next time the Lions take to the home turf will be next Thursday, Sept. 28, when Southeast Missouri State comes to campus, with kickoff for that coming at 7:00 p.m.
