Days after upsetting No. 3 Smith in the NEWMAC quarterfinals as the No. 6 seed, the Emerson women’s soccer team hoped to continue the momentum in a semifinal battle against the No. 7 WPI Engineers, who earned a trip to the semis after upsetting No. 2 Springfield.
The Lions won their last three regular-season games against WPI, including a 2-1 win on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Emerson hoped for a repeat in this rematch of underdogs, as they strived for a second NEWMAC championship in three seasons.
The Engineers were quick in their opening attack, as a right-side shot was saved by senior goalkeeper Amara Schaub 56 seconds in. The Lions had an opportunity with a corner kick at the 2:23 mark, but couldn’t convert either. Another shot by the Engineers missed left with 9:02 elapsed, and after a scramble in WPI’s box, senior defender Maddie Khaw’s shot was saved at the 14:13 mark. The Lions’ defense remained strong a few minutes later, as senior defender Anna Swisher made a slide tackle to prevent WPI’s next attempt with 18 minutes elapsed.
A rainbow shot by the Engineers found the back of the net at the 21:47 mark, bringing WPI on the board, 1-0. Emerson had numerous chances to respond, and they attempted to take advantage. A shot by junior midfielder Linae Bezdek—the Lions’ leading scorer—was blocked with nearly 30 minutes gone by, and Khaw’s next attempt at 33:08 was also stifled.
The Lions soon entered the locker room trailing WPI 1-0 at halftime. They took three shots in the period—including one on goal—while WPI also had three shots but two on goal.
The Lions continued to search for opportunities in the second half, attempting to overcome a scrappy, physical WPI roster. WPI defenders blocked a shot by first-year midfielder Kelsey Laughrey at the 48:23 mark. The Engineers had a chance to double their lead, but missed a left-side shot 10 minutes into the half. Schaub saved a low-right shot by WPI with less than 20 minutes to play, racking up her second save of the game.
Emerson refused to slow down their attack, but the Engineers remained steadfast in their defense. A shot from sophomore forward Zoe Simmons was blocked at 71:15; the Lions failed to score on a corner kick in the 77th minute; and a high-right shot from Bezdek was saved with ten minutes to play. Schaub saved a low-right attempt from WPI in the 81st minute, and another try to put the game on ice was missed with four minutes remaining. The Lions’ season ended at the hands of the Engineers, who eventually fell to No. 1 MIT in the NEWMAC championship game Saturday.
Despite the outcome, head coach David Suvak was still pleased with the team’s effort.
“I thought we dominated the possession area,” he said. “The style of play we had, I thought, was excellent.”
Suvak added that WPI’s defense hindered Emerson’s offense, as the Lions only generated six shots Wednesday, with only two being on goal.
“We didn’t create a lot of opportunities, because they were defending us pretty well, so we didn’t generate enough shots. I think that was the difference,” he said.
When reflecting on this year’s group, Suvak was quick to touch on the impact of the Lions’ 10 seniors, who were part of the 2022 NEWMAC championship team and journeyed to the conference semifinals three times in their careers.
“The 10 seniors have been a big part of the success of this program,” Suvak said. “They really have brought the program up in a very positive way for the college. That’s what I remember, and that’s what I tried to share with them.”
He also mentioned that senior defender Yoshiko Slater made history Wednesday, becoming the program’s leader in games started with 76 over her four-year career—including 20 this season. The same goes for Schaub as the team’s main goalkeeper, having started 72 of 73 games for the Lions.
What Suvak loved most about this year’s team was their mental fortitude against high levels of competition.
“We put in front of them a very difficult schedule, and we really wrestled with that as a group,” he said. “We lost some games against some very good teams, like Tufts or Misericordia—who are top-ten teams in the country. Their mentality stayed strong, and I was hoping that that type of a game would kind of shine in a game like tonight, and it did in many ways.”
“And we occasionally lost a game where we were the better team. I think about the first game against Smith—I thought we were the better team, and we ended up losing. But we got redemption on Tuesday.”
Going forward, Suvak hopes the returning and future Lions can maintain Emerson’s playing style.
“The style of play that we play [with], I think it’s maybe unique or different than most colleges,” he said. “We don’t play like WPI … We play [a] much more sophisticated type of soccer. So I hope the returning group wants to carry that on. With [assistant coach] Colin [Connelly] and I recruiting players and the way we kind of identify players to bring to the college, we’re looking for kids to immediately fit in that way. Complementing the existing kids that are already here, I want to bring that back.”
