After opening the weekend at home to Wright State on Aug. 29, the Bison women’s soccer team kicked off their season’s away games by going head-to-head with No. 13 Georgetown on Sept. 1. The Bison fell on both occasions, leaving them hungry to regain early season momentum.

Upon arrival in Lewisburg, the Wright State Raiders had gone undefeated during the preseason and in their first two games of official play against Marian and Miami (Ohio). The last time the Bison and Raiders faced-off was in Ohio during the 2016 season, when Bailey Hurst ’20 tallied her first collegiate goal.

Wright State opened up their lead in the 28th minute after a long kick set up a goal-scoring breakaway for the Raiders.  The Bison responded with intense offensive pressure for the remainder of the first half, with a cross from Jenna Marek ’21 ending with a narrow miss from Lilly Courts ’20. Wright State extended their lead in the beginning of the second half with another goal in the 50th minute.

The Bison managed to prevent the shutout when Chloe Christakos ’21 found the back of the net after a free kick by Alana Carlucci ’22. In the second half, another quality chance was narrowly missed when a header from Emilene Parham ’22 skimmed over the crossbar. In the end, both teams totaled 13 shots, while the Bison led in corner kicks 15 to four.

Play continued on Sept. 1 as the Bison faced Georgetown in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas, who appeared in the NCAA College Cup semifinals last season, were on the board in the first three minutes of play. Along with another goal in the 44th minute, Georgetown finished with 27 shots and improved their season record to 2-1-1.

The Bison came close to scoring in the final minute of the match with a corner kick, but the Hoyas managed to earn the shutout. The match marked the third straight loss for the Bison, who previously fell to Pittsburgh 1-0 after a gripping two rounds of overtime.

“I think we put really good effort during the game against Georgetown this past weekend With that being said, I am excited for the team to continue building momentum that will hopefully translate into two wins this upcoming weekend,” co-captain Ali Russo ’20 said.

The Bison will return to action when they host Cornell on Sept. 6 at 4 p.m.