Women’s soccer’s new head coach Colin Baker received his first win as head of the program on Saturday as Point Park defeated the Wheeling Cardinals 2-0 in their first MEC match-up of the season.
“I’m incredibly proud of everyone in this program. It’s not about me, it’s about the collective,” Coach Baker said following the win. “The staff put in great work. They put in great work every single day…Every time they step on the field and they get the result, it’s all about them, but obviously any time things go wrong, I will step in front and also take the blame for that.”
The Pioneers and Cardinals were scoreless at the end of the first half, with Wheeling having six shots and Point Park only having two.
About three minutes into the second half, forward Paula Sole beat goalkeeper Sam Faulkner one-on-one to put the Pioneers up 1-0.
“That was my first goal of the season, so I was really excited for that,” Sole said. “It was a group pass through and, I don’t know, I just managed to put that in the back.”
At 64:48, midfielder Sterre Kuijper extended the Pioneers lead to 2-0. Sole would get the assist on the goal, making it a three point game for her.
“I think to bounce back from Wednesday when she had plenty of opportunities to score, and to have that goldfish memory that we talk about, but also of what’s important now, of winning every moment, she took advantage of that moment,” Coach Baker said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her, the way that she got in behind…and then the composure in the mentality to score that goal…I’m excited to see her performance moving forward.”
Point Park goalkeeper Frederieke Rijlaarsdam stopped all four of Wheeling’s shots on goal for her first win and shutout of the season. Overall, Coach Baker was very happy with his team’s defensive effort throughout the game.
“It’s very hard to win at this level, but it’s also very hard to defend and to also keep shutouts,” Coach Baker said. “So at the end of the day, it takes all of us…I think that’s just the mentality in which people can see from us moving forward.”
Spirits were high among all the players after the game. They celebrated Coach Baker’s first win by dumping water from the Gatorade bucket all over him.
“We’ve been training with him for a little bit, and so we’re really happy for him and for the work he’s been doing for us,” Sole said. “ So I think he deserves that and we’ll put the work in for him any other time as well.”
The Pioneers will head on the road for the first time this season as they travel to face Salem University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
