Point Park women’s soccer suffered a 3-1 loss on the road against Fairmont State on Sunday, Nov. 3 in the Pioneers’ final Mountain East Conference (MEC) matchup.
Although the Pioneers knew they were eliminated from playoff contention entering the game, coach Kelly Raddar shared how the players fought hard for a win nonetheless.
“Even though we knew winning wasn’t going to impact our trajectory upwards in the playoffs, they never gave up,” Raddar said. “They played with a lot of heart…contended until the last whistle blow.”
Point Park entered the second half down 2-0, when junior Jurnee Durrett-Finney scored an unassisted goal 30 seconds into the period to cut the Pioneers’ deficit in half. With over 44 minutes remaining, the Pioneers had a chance to make a comeback.
But before the Pioneers could attempt any more shots, the Falcons delivered yet another ball into the back of the net to score the final goal of the game. Fairmont State’s Valentina Gianinetto scored her second goal of the game in the 53rd minute off an assist from Serenity Thomas.
Gianinetto and Thomas led the offense for the Falcons, scoring both first-half goals on top of the joint effort to score the final goal of the game.
Thomas put the Falcons on the board in the first half, scoring her 10th goal of the season in the 28th minute. Gianinetto increased Fairmont State’s lead in the first half with a successful penalty kick in the 37th minute, triggered by a foul from Point Park defender Jamie Spurrell.
Both teams each recorded five shots on goal, leaving it to the goalkeepers to ultimately decide the game. Fairmont State’s Olivia Johnson managed four saves and allowed only one goal. Point Park’s Nicole Kuchinski recorded two saves and allowed three goals.
Going into Wednesday’s game, three of Point Park’s goalkeepers suffered injury or illness, including frequent starters Maggie Pappas and Frederieke Rijlaarsdam. This awarded sophomore Kuchinski her first
collegiate start.
Point Park’s Gillianne Stewardson contributed three shots on frame and senior Vanessa Vazquez recorded one.
Fairmont State earned its fifth straight win to improve to a 9-4 conference record. The Falcons in second place in the MEC North division and only one win behind division leader Frostburg State – who they face in their final game of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
The Pioneers conclude conference play with a 1-9-4 conference record and a 2-10-5 record overall, putting them in last place in the MEC North.
“This group of women that we have on this team are very competitive, and now that they can see firsthand what the expectations are and what the challenges are they’ll put in the work to overcome that,” Raddar said.
Point Park closes the 2024 season against Salem in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Highmark Stadium. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.
“The girls are fired up,” Raddar said. “They’re excited. The season hasn’t gone as planned. But in all fairness, we’ve played a lot of very good teams – but we’ve competed very well with a lot of good teams.”
