The Massachusetts women’s soccer team looks to bounce back in its second game of the season, following a 3-1 loss to Penn State. The Minutewomen (0-1-0) will face Boston College on Sunday in Chestnut Hill before returning to Amherst for their home opener against UMass Lowell.
UMass has not faced the Eagles (1-0-0) since 2019 as its scheduled game in the spring season was cancelled due to the pandemic. Boston College is coming off a 5-0 win in its season opener having taken 23 shots throughout the game.
“The biggest thing we are looking at as a staff is how organized we can be in those transitional moments,” head coach Jason Dowiak said. “Our ability to play compact and move as a unit are things we have been harping on since the first day we got back together.”
The Minutewomen were able to contain Penn State and prevent any goals in the first half. Chandler Pedolzky opened the scoring early in the second half, but the Nittany Lions came back scoring three unanswered goals soon after. Going into the game tomorrow, UMass will look to put more pressure on the Eagle’s back line.
“We would like to be more offensively focused on times and create even more chances,” Dowiak said. “If we can be faster and cleaner in our connections to really free ourselves and get forward.”
Pedolzky had two shots on goal and fellow freshman Juliana Ryan and Bella Recinos each took one. The Minutewomen struggled last season in the top third of the field, but this game saw more opportunities being created and shots being taken, especially from the younger players.
Despite Thursday’s result, the Minutewomen showed strength in their loss, having competed against the No. 10 ranked team. They are looking to show further improvement in tomorrow’s game by limited the offensive opportunities for Boston College and setting up more plays in the top third, taking shots on net.
“I think the hard part on a Sunday after a Thursday and after traveling is to regain our legs and recover quickly,” Dowiak said. “If we do those things well then we can expect to see our group move well after the ball in those moments where we need to be more organized and compact.”
The Minutewomen’s schedule this season features many Thursday and Sunday games, giving the team only a short time to rest. They will return home for Thursday’s game before traveling once again to Boston University.
Having only had one game this season, Dowiak measures the success of his team from the summer trainings and practices.
“Our big thing is attitude and effort,” Dowiak said. “We feel like the players have the ability to do pretty much anything that they want to do but do they have the awareness and the mentality to do it over and over again and be consistent.”
The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday. Any game updates related to weather will be posted on social media. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
Sophie Weller can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @SophieeWellerr.
