The Bison women’s soccer team faced Towson University on Aug. 31, claiming victory by a score of 1-0 off a late goal from Jenna Marek ’21. Two days later, on Sept. 2, the team traveled to Saint Francis and fought until the last moment before drawing to a tie.

Coming off an opening weekend in which the Bison faced two 2018 NCAA tournament competitors, Hofstra and Niagara, the Orange and Blue stepped onto Emmitt Field hungry for a win. In the first portion of the game, the Bison and the Tigers went back and forth in a fairly even match. The Bison had a solid chance to score when Gabby Bair ’20 connected with Emilene Parham ’22 for a shot that skimmed just over the crossbar.

After playing with intense persistence, Marek intercepted a Tiger pass in the 80th minute, made a move past a defender and placed the ball in the net. The Bison had 12 shots on goal for the game, while the Tigers had 10. Theresa Adu-Attobrah ’20 notched her first career shutout, making three prominent saves.

“Even though we didn’t play our best game, we found a way to win, which is important,” Marek said. “We walked away from the game hoping to improve for Sunday’s game.”

The Bison then traveled to challenge the Saint Francis Red Flash on Sept. 2. Both teams battled throughout the first half, as the Bison built on an impressive defensive performance from the previous game thanks to its starting backline of Ali Russo’20, Riley Coopersmith ’19, Claire Mensi ’22, and Maddie Dano ’19. The Orange and Blue held a 13-1 first-half advantage in shots as Bailey Hurst ’20, Marek, and Bair all battled the Saint Francis goalkeeper.

With the score remaining 0-0 at the end of regulation play, both teams headed to overtime. The Orange and Blue out-shot the Red Flash 21-12 overall, with three corners in overtime play, but failed to find the back of the net. The game remained scoreless at the end of the two 10-minute overtime periods.

“Against Saint Francis we were given the opportunity to press a lot, creating numerous chances,” Russo said. “Going forward, we now have to determine how to convert on those chances, all the while improving each and every day.”

After a solid weekend of play, the Bison will look to build on their record in their non-conference match-up on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. against Saint Joseph’s.