“The result against Arcadia was not the one we were looking for, however, I thought we gave a great effort against a good team. We showed up to play, but just couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket, so to speak. I was proud of our ‘never say die’ attitude, we were just unfortunate offensively that day,” Jason Petronis said, head coach of the women’s Elizabethtown College soccer team.

On Oct. 22, the women’s soccer team played against Arcadia University. After two overtimes, the score remained 0-0. “It was a tough-fought match by both sides. Our team has a definite ‘never give up,’ ‘never say die’ attitude and that was shown immensely at the game,” junior Laura Wingert said.

But just like any other sports event, there was a positive and a negative of the game. “The tie seemed at least like a moral victory for us because we haven’t got a win against them since my class has been at Etown,” Wingert said. The negative part was that A win would have boosted the team’s chances of landing a playoff spot.

Before they could even think about the future, sophomore Alex Topa recognized the field seemed to be a problem. “The field was terrible. We were basically playing on total dirt and the ball was bouncing a lot.” Topa said.

Wingert also commented on the field’s appearance. “The field conditions made it a little tough to play our usual style of play so we resorted to using our speed more than usual.” The field could not be changed so the team’s focus returned to the game ahead of them.

As the team altered their focus, the players realized that they had a tough game ahead of them because Arcadia is a tough competitor. “We were all ready to play that day, ready to fight like it was our last game ever. We did fight the entire game and did not give up one bit. Every single player gave it their all,” Topa said.

As the game progressed, each team had a few shots on goal but failed to hit the back of the net. However, the Jays were far from discouraged. “Their goalie was very active off her line and kept us from scoring a bunch of corner kicks. At half time our coach told us that we should try to play down the flanks [outside midfielders] as much as possible,” Topa added.

As the second half began, the Lady Jays had high hopes for a victorious outcome. “We had many chances, including one from Laura Wingert, [sophomore] Taylor Kreider and [first-year] Kendra Mancino. The chances were so perfect but we just could not put them away,” Topa explained. As the game continued they were unaware of how this was going to affect the playoffs for them.

The game took an unexpected turn when they went into their second round of overtime play. “I know that our whole team was exhausted, bodies bruised and tired. But that did not stop us,” Topa continued.

The players then turned to their coach for support. “Our coach told us to remember how we feel when we have to do our last sprint at practice,” Topa said. “At the time we do not think that we can do it, we are tired and our muscles are sore. But somehow we pull through, somehow we finish our last sprint.”

The Jays continued to play their hardest through the grueling extension of play but were unable to score a goal. “It was a shame that we could not put a tally under the win column but I am proud of our team for playing so hard. We play together and never give up,” said Topa.

The team recently competed against Susquehanna University. The game was a success as they won 1-0, scoring with 14 seconds left. The goal was by Kreider with an assist by Kendra Mancino. The team also played Messiah Oct. 31, and ended with a score of 0-3.

The women’s soccer team is wrapping up their season. Win or lose, it is evident that the team has given all that they have this season and can be proud of their strength, and positive attitude through it all.