By Joanna Venditto
The Pride handed UNC-Wilmington its first loss of the season Sunday, upsetting the Seahawks, 1-0, on its home turf. With the win the Pride improved its season record to 7-3-1, and also improves to 1-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play. UNC-Wilmington drops to 9-1-1 on the season and is now 0-1-1 in conference play.
UNC-Wilmington began the day with a nearly flawless record. However, the Pride hit the road in an attempt to change all of that.
“If we come, we come to play,” coach JoAnne Russell said. “UNC-Wilmington is always a tough opponent. They are strong and aggressive and because this year they were ranked lower, they really came out to do battle.”
Initially, the Pride planned specific strategies for dealing with the Seahawks, but the horrible weather conditions held the team back.
“The weather blew everything out of the water. It was a torrential downpour and there were some really strong winds. Our strategy kept changing with the weather,” assistant coach Simon Riddiough said.
The Pride dominated UNC, out-shooting the Seahwaks 18-6 and also took a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. Russell felt that the Pride’s domination came from its shot selection.
“We don’t take many outside shots. We get right in there,” she said. “We were much more of a threat on the field than UNC-Wilmington was in that respect.”
Despite the Pride’s domination, the harsh weather conditions continued to plague the team, which could not put the ball in the net until the final 12 minutes of play.
“We had the opportunities to make the score about 6-0,” Russell said. “The rain was coming down so hard there were a lot of miss-kicks.”
A scoreless deadlock was broken when freshman fullback Marie Curtin scored off a corner kick from senior midfielder Emma Kilduff. “They’re our Irish connection,” Russell joked. The goal was Curtin’s second of the season and Kilduff earned her third assist of the season on the play.
Senior goalie Becky Wachsberger had three saves in the game while earning her third shutout of the season. Throughout her three-year career with the Pride, Wachsberger earned her 22nd solo shutout in 50 starts and has built an outstanding 34-5-11record in her time with the team.
Tomorrow, the Pride host archrival Delaware in what is guaranteed to be an exciting match. “It is going to be a good game. The rivalry really is between both universities, not just these two teams. If everyone shows up to play, we are sure to win,” Riddiough stated.