POTSDAM, N.Y. - A week after getting dominated in its Liberty League opener at Rensselaer, the Bard College women's soccer team faced a fork in the road at Clarkson on Friday afternoon.
If their season was going to be memorable or historic in any way, it couldn't go the way it did last week. Something had to change.
Bard got a rocket of a goal from
Gina Lewis in the first half, and a counterattack goal in the second half from
Avalon Qian, and the Raptors defeated Clarkson University, 2-0. It was the first Liberty League win for Bard since joining the conference in 2011.
"I think we just got our mojo back after last week," Bard coach
Bill Kelly said. "We played very strong defensively against RPI, but we decided in this game we wreren't going to just sit back and play defense. We were able to go into attack mode and still play solid defense."
Bard carried the better of the play in the first half, outshooting the Golden Knights, 6-0. One of those shots, from
Gina Lewis in the 41st minute, was a real eye-opener. She blasted one from 25 yards that went into the upper corner behind Clarkson keeper Anna DeMasi (Colchester, VT).
"It's one of the top 1 or 2 goals I've seen since I've been at Bard," Kelly said. "It was a driven ball and I think it left a vapor trail. Gina is possessed with the idea of this being an historic season for us. She wanted that Liberty League win and she was just amazing today. All over the field."
Playing against the wind with a 1-0 lead in the second half, Bard's offensive opportunities were limited. In the 69th minute,
Avalon Qian got loose on a counter, took a shot that hit the post, then collected the rebound and put it in for a 2-0 lead.
In the end, total shots were 8-4 in favor of Bard.
Kelsey O'Brien made two saves. The team got together and celebrated, though not for long, because they play at St. Lawrence on Saturday at 2.
"Because of the way we won, I'd say the feeling after the game was pride," Kelly said. "It wasn't fluky or lucky. We played a solid game against a very competitive team that played hard, like their season depended on it, too. We didn't win by the skin of our teeth. That's very satisfying."
