The SMWC Soccer Team's Homecoming match with the Trailblazers turned out to be a chance for us to get good playing time for everyone and showcase some of the talents of our players. Though SMWC produced only two goals in the first half, one for Arrika Garcia and a penalty kick finish by Britt Simmerman, the floodgates opened a bit in the second half with five other players notching goals, one a Logan Jones header from a corner kick served by Jessica Black.

As expected, the SMWC team was pointing for the Thursday match with Rose-Hulman, a rivalry that has favored the Engineers every time but one in the 10-year history of the program. Rose came in hoping to prove that their early losses this year were a function of the level of competition they had faced in the pre-conference schedule. The Engineers opened the match with a 3 to 1 edge in possession, but were turned away multiple times by April Baranowski’s skill in goal. The slim margin of safety broke in the 16th minute, with a goal by Molly Richardson, scored when a ball bounced around The Woods’ box too long without a clearance. The Engineers were able to keep up that level of pressure, and scored twice more in the first half, with Richardson tallying again on an unstoppable free kick from the edge of the eighteen. Despite the rain and a 3-goal deficit, SMWC's players came off at halftime believing that they could control the Rose attack and generate better chances themselves. They set themselves the goal of winning the second half. The second half saw the SMWC team rise to defend more in the middle third, possess better, and create better chances. Though the Engineers continued to be dangerous, SMWC matched the Engineers’ number of possessions in the attacking third and held them off the scoreboard, with April Baranowski recording a heroic 15 saves for the match and Arrika Garcia getting in behind the Rose defenders, only to see her shot rise just above the left top corner. The match ended 3-0 in favor of Rose, with a heavy statistical advantage for the Engineers in shots and corner kicks. The result represents progress, but another lesson.

This leaves SMWC 3-5-1 going into the home match on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with Trine University. They are 2-2 against foes from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and are ranked #10 in the USCAA in the last weekly report. The remaining schedule represents an opportunity to gather power points, including two matches against DII rival Oakland City University, but the team will have to perform at the top of its potential to make a run at a tournament bid. It should be exciting!

- Mike Aycock