After a 3-0 defeat at the hands of rival Messiah College, the women’s soccer team continued its tough conference schedule Wednesday against Alvernia University.
After first-year Deanna Slater scored a goal in the first half, the Blue Jays poured on three more goals in the second half as first-year midfielder Kaceyanne Cerankowski scored her second and third goals of the year. Junior Alyssa Koplin scored with a little over ten minutes left in the game.
Senior goalkeeper Jess Manchak and first-year goalkeeper Dana Robidoux split time in the net to combine for their fourth shutout of the season as the Blue Jays improved to 7-3-3. With three wins in the conference, the Blue Jays stayed a game behind Messiah for the top spot in the Commonwealth Conference.
On Saturday against Albright College, the game was more of a defensive battle for the Blue Jays. After a scoreless first half, first-year Trisha Clark took a pass from senior Laura Wingert and shot the ball from long range to get by Albright goalkeeper Kelly Burian to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Blue Jays.
With under ten minutes left in the game, Albright first-year Emily Diaz scored a one timer off senior Kim Harkins’ corner kick to level the game at one goal apiece.
With less than five minutes left in the game, it was the Blue Jays’ young players that stepped up on the big stage when it mattered most. First-year Lauren Fredericks passed the ball to Cerankowski, who took a long shot off the post and into the net. Head Coach Jason Petronis gives Cerankowski credit for the boost she has given the team the last two games. “Cerankowski has three goals in the last two games, including the game winner against Albright on Saturday, which was great,” Petronis said.
Manchak came up huge with two saves in the game for the victory, making it her 31st career win, placing her one victory behind Lisa Blanker for the school record in wins. Blanker had 32 victories in the net for the Blue Jays from 1997 to 2000.
Before playing Stevenson University, Petronis said a good performance is vital for the team in the tight conference race. “The next two games are huge. If we can get a win against Stevenson, it’ll be good. Our strategy is the same as always: play hard and for us, getting up early. We are more of a second half team, so starting off early would help us greatly,” Petronis said.
Etown was prepared for the tough game but so were the Mustangs. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime sessions. Slater scored the only goal for the Jays in the game. A win looked promising, but Stevenson’s Jennifer Simkin scored the equalizer with a little over four minutes remaining in the game.
The Blue Jays moved up to 8-3-4 on the season and 4-1-1 in the conference, still one game behind Messiah for the top spot in the conference.
With one more victory, the Blue Jays will have tied their total number of wins from last year. The Blue Jays have also doubled their win total in conference play from last year and have improved vastly in all areas of play, especially offensively.
Petronis believes the offense is starting to click because of how the mix of players is starting to produce goals in key points of the game. “The young players and seniors are really starting to create success on the offensive end. Laura Wingert, who is usually our forward, is playing more of a midfield role for us this season and it is paying off,” Petronis said.
Koplin believes that the practices the team has had recently have contributed to their success on the field. “Through our practices, which have been focusing on shooting and creating space to get good positions on the field, the team has really shined in games,” Koplin said.
Cerankowski  agreed with Koplin in how the team has worked on the basics in practice. “I think we have improved offensively by really focusing on connecting passes with each other and dedicating ourselves to the opportunities we create,” she said.