The Point Park Pioneers Women’s Soccer Team suffered a devastating loss last Thursday against Midway. The Eagles started off strong with a 3-0 early in the first half. Then the Pioneers were able to get a goal late in the first and add two more in the second half. However, The Eagles capitalized with a game-winning goal with nine minutes left and held on for the win. It was a learning experience for Pioneers as a lesson to avoid playing from behind.  

Then it happened again during the Pioneer’s game on Monday against the Ohio Christian Trailblazers, who came into the game still searching for their first RSC win of the season. The Blazers jumped out to a 1-0 lead around the midway point of the first half. They would hold the lead at the end of the first half as the Pioneers struggled to get shots on goal. 

The Pioneers put the pressure on early. Then at the 14th minute of the second half, they tied the game with a goal from Taylor Goldstrom, who scored in her fourth game in a row. Then a nice setup from Jaylin Hunt over to Shayna Augusma at the 64.05 minute gave the Pioneers the lead. Not to mention, freshman Athena Beck scored with nine minutes left. The Pioneers would go on to win, but not with pressure from the Trailblazers, who scored with seven minutes left to get the game within one. Nonetheless, the Pioneers won 3-2 and now have a 3-1 record in RSC Play.

The one thing that impresses me about the Pioneers this season is their perseverance when they are down in a game. This is the third game in a row the Pioneers have come back to tie or take the lead after being down. They have gone 2-1 in those games, including an overtime win against Carlow after being down 0-3 in the game. Now, you don’t ever want to get down in a game. Still, teams the Pioneers play in the future need to be careful if they get ahead because these athletes know how to get back into a game in the blink of an eye, especially in the second half as they have scored more than two goals in the second half in the past three games. 

With this win, the Pioneers jumped to second in the RSC behind their next opponent on Thursday, IU East, the team who the Pioneers lost to in the postseason two years ago. They also still need to play Rio Grande later in the season, who is tied with Point Park for second now. So, these next few games will be significant for the Pioneers because of all the teams fighting for the number one seed in the RSC playoffs, which will be here before we know it. So, the Pioneers need to play at their best in these upcoming games because one loss can really affect the Pioneers’ chances of sitting atop the River States Conference.