Heading into the NAIA Game of the Week Sunday, the Baker University women’s soccer team had its mindset ready for a tough battle against one of its biggest conference rivals and this is exactly what the Wildcats faced when they stepped on Graceland University’s home field in Lamoni, Iowa.
Despite their preparation, the Wildcats were unable to finish the fight and picked up their first loss of the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season. The 2-1 victory didn’t come easy for the Yellowjackets, though.
Only 10 minutes had passed by in the first half when senior Jordan Dolbin took a corner kick for Baker. Dolbin’s kick connected with sophomore Alexa Fryer, who was able to get her foot on the ball while she was standing in the goalie box and shot it past goalkeeper Stefany Castano Cardozo to give the ‘Cats the early 1-0 lead.
For the remainder of the first half, ball control was back-and-forth among the teams. Baker took a total of eight shots, six of which were on goal, and allowed only two shots on goal out of the 10 taken by Graceland.
Second half play was similar to the first until the final seconds of regulation when Baker lost grip of its lead and allowed a goal shot by Sydney Nolan to beat goalkeeper Rachel Theobald. Teammate Gisela Arrieta recorded the assist on the goal, which forced the game into overtime.
Much like their first goal was scored, Nolan was able to finish off the game for the Yellowjackets as the clock dwindled down in the last minute of overtime.
Nolan received a pass from teammate Sarahi Ortiz Casillas with only 0:27 left on the clock, and took a shot which deflected off of Theobald’s hands into the back of the net to give Graceland the 2-1 victory.
Despite giving up two goals, Theobald recorded eight saves on the night out of the 22 shots her team’s defense allowed Graceland to take. Baker, too, had plenty of opportunities for goals as it took a total of 23 shots, 13 of which were on goal.
Sophomore Shelby Schiraldi said the Wildcats dominated Graceland for the majority of the game but took it’s “foot of the gas” in the final minutes.
“We had the game in the bag and we did well for the most part,” Schiraldi said. “We just need to keep pushing through the full 90 minutes.”
While Baker dropped to 9-3-1 overall and 3-1 in the HAAC, Graceland improved its record to 13-2 and 4-0 in conference play.
The Wildcats will have a chance to bounce back as they take on their next HAAC opponent, Benedictine College, at 5 p.m. Saturday in Atchison.
