Seeking to build on an already strong season, the women’s soccer team defeated Holy Cross 3-0 on Sept. 30 and fell to Princeton 0-4 on Oct. 3. The game against Holy Cross resulted in the team’s sixth straight shutout, establishing a new school record before they fell to Princeton.

The team took the field on Sept. 30 after coming off a dominating performance against Loyola on Sept. 27. The Bison got an early goal from Maddie Mulford ’18, her second of the 2017 season. The Princeton goalie saved an initial shot from Alex Catanzarite ’21 before Mulford buried the rebound.

About 15 minutes later, Kendall Ham ’18 took a shot that bounced off the post and was soon collected by Jenna Marek ’21. Marek laid a pass off for Catanzarite, who shot a spectacular ball right over the keeper’s head from about 25 yards out.

To put the finishing touch on the match, in the third minute of the second half, Jackie Ham ’18 sent a bouncing ball over the goalie and into the goal off of a direct free kick. Goalie Dani Kaufman ’20 made four saves in the contest to help her team close out the game with a blank slate.

“During the game against Holy Cross, we controlled the game and played really well. Karli Cirovski ’18 made a great play to help keep the shutout. We played as a team and had each other’s backs,” Kaufman said.

Just three days later, the Orange and Blue once again stepped on Emmitt Field to face No. 11 Princeton. Early in the game, the Bison looked strong as they maintained consistent possession. Midfielder Gabi Rosenfeld ’18 performed well, organizing the field and creating chances. Unfortunately, in the 21st minute, the opposition struck first, sneaking a goal in just under the crossbar.

Princeton’s next two goals came in the 26th and 39th minutes. Seeking to get back on track, the Bison picked up the pace in the second half, creating several scoring opportunities. The best of these came from Gabby Bair ’20, whose quick shot was ultimately saved.

Kaufman once again performed well, saving nine of the 10 shots fired by Princeton during the second half. Two of these saves were back-to-back, with Kaufman remaining composed to prevent a further deficit.

“Princeton was certainly a good test for us. We are now going into tougher conference play, so I think it was important for us to see a more competitive team going forward,” Rosenfeld said.

The women’s team will be back in action on Oct. 7 against Army West Point at 2 p.m.