MOON TOWNSHIP — A sunny, Sunday afternoon at the North Athletic Complex was the site of a gritty and even match between RMU women’s soccer and Dartmouth.
The Colonials (1-3-3) entered the match on a 5 game winless run where they had to tackle Big Green (3-2-1), who themselves were coming off a devastating loss to Pitt on Thursday. While it wasn’t the perfect performance from RMU, the spoils were shared, 1-1.
RMU started off on the front foot, garnering a couple chances from senior forward Haleigh Finale and Paloma Swankler, but as Dartmouth eased into the game, it was clear the Big Green were going to hold the main share of possession
“This is by far the hardest non conference schedule this program has ever faced,” said head coach Michelle Rick. “To get a result against a really solid team in Dartmouth is huge for us,”
The Colonial’s defense wasn’t as solid as the score line suggests, with Dartmouth garnering 12 shots, 5 of which were on target. While RMU went into the break tied, having soaked up a lot of the pressure Dartmouth brought, it wouldn’t last long in the second half.
The Big Green would finally find a breakthrough when a handball was called inside the first 5 minutes of the second half. Senior midfielder Hailey Rorick would step up and slot the ball in to take the lead.
While Brenna Murray wouldn’t get a hand on the penalty, she would step up big later, and was a large reason the Colonial’s could leave today with something
Rick said of the graduate student’s performance, “She’s just consistent and solid from energy to what she brings between the sticks, she’s somebody that we can count on and is gonna come up in big moments and keep us in games like this.”
And come up she did. RMU would find themselves defending corners and clearances a lot, something which Murray would lead on, even from the back. The Graduate keeper picked up a career high 10 saves on Dartmouth’s 21 shots.
With Murray holding the team in the game, it was up to the forwards to find a reward for the defensive performance, and with 5 minutes left in the match, Paloma Swankler would be the one to do so.
Off a throw in, Swankler would pick the ball up and carry it central before lifting a shot from outside the eighteen that floated into the top, left corner. The Colonials would see out the game from there an end a pretty uneventful, yet intense game 1-1.
Coach Rick praised the team’s resilience, and hopes that the difficulty faced in this non-conference schedule will only make the team more prepared for Horizon League action down the road.
“I think a part of the reason we play the strength of non-conference schedule the way we do is to prepare us for conference play,” Rick said, adding “We want to be facing opponents who are tougher than what we’re going to see in conference so that when we get into conference play, we’re ready, we’re battle tested, and we can hit the ground running with some experience under our belt.”
When asked if the defensive style many saw today would be a thing that continued into the rest of the season, Rick was quick to brush it off.
“Playing against really solid, well-organized teams allowed us to develop a lot in terms of the grit, discipline, and organization that we bring on the defensive side. Now it’s about unlocking what we can do in the final third.”
RMU will get a chance to use this experience and discipline against reigning Horizon League champions Oakland whom the Colonials bowed out to in the semi-finals of the Horizon League playoff last fall.
As for a message to the team for this trip, Rick stated “The message is to keep building. Keep building on the identity we’re forming and on the foundation of that gritty, disciplined defense, and that final piece of consistency in the final third.”
