They have recently played against some of the best teams in the Northeast and have battled through what Head Coach Jason Tassinari called “the toughest schedule we’ve ever had.,Although it may seem as if the Emerson women’s soccer team has endured a rough season, the Lions have done well to overcome an onslaught of injuries and a demanding schedule.
They have recently played against some of the best teams in the Northeast and have battled through what Head Coach Jason Tassinari called “the toughest schedule we’ve ever had.”
“From the outside, it may look rocky, but the players are working hard, and the team is very resilient,” Tassinari said. “And we’re much better than our current record indicates.”
The team has dealt with a significant amount of injuries in the first half of the season; 13 players were sidelined in a loss to Curry College Sept. 25.
“Some of these teams, like Curry, you can’t play against if you’re at less than 100 percent,” Tassinari said. “We’ve had the misfortune of being decimated with injuries, and every time we start to get a little healthier, we get more injuries. We have the injury bug, even though our energy and leadership is there.”
The team put up a fight in a 2-1 loss to Emmanuel College Oct. 4 but came up short in overtime. Coming off a 1-0 overtime loss to Rivier College Sept. 30, the team was prepared to play hard. Freshman forward Rachel Lerma scored in the second half, giving Emerson a 1-0 lead.
“It was a great goal, and we thought that would be it, and that we were in control of the game,” Tassinari said.
Emmanuel tied the game minutes later, and Emerson soon lost its second overtime game in a row.
“These are just gut-wrenching losses,” Tassinari said. “We had such great opportunities in both games to win, so it’s hard to lose games like that. Emmanuel has improved a lot this year, and we give them a lot of credit.”
Despite a somewhat tumultuous season, members of the team have won conference awards.
Freshman midfielder Katie Franzeo was recently named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll for scoring two goals and having two assists in an 8-0 win over Albertus Magnus College Sept. 16. Freshman forward Kendra Davidson and junior forward Casey Whalen have also been honored by the GNAC, Davidson by the weekly Honor Roll and Whalen as Player of the Week.
With two conference matches and two non-conference matches remaining in the season, Tassinari stresses that the team try not to look too far ahead and focus on each game as it comes.
The team has an opportunity to finish the season up with a solid record in the league. They will face St. Joseph College Saturday in GNAC conference play and will host UMass Boston at Rotch Field on Tuesday. The first round of the GNAC Championship Tournament begins Oct. 28.
“There’s still a lot of games left to go,” Tassinari said. “And we have a lot to play for, both in the league and overall for the record. That’s the key to it all, and we play for ourselves – the program. All the remaining games are more than winnable if we can put together a consistent effort.”