Women’s soccer won its third consecutive game on Sunday as the Pioneers defeated the West Liberty Hilltoppers on the road with a 5-1 victory. The team’s three-straight victories come after starting the season off with a tie and a loss.
“I think it’s not about what’s changed since the beginning of the season, but more about what we’ve been able to build on,” team captain Gillianne Stewardson said. “We’ve been using each game, whether it’s a win or a loss, to learn and grow. We’re gaining more confidence and learning how to work together.”
The Pioneers dominated right from the start of the game, with Rebecca Pihlgren scoring 10 seconds into the game to put the Pioneers up 1-0.
“The first goal came really quickly, as we were ready to go,” Pihlgren said. “We won the ball high and we went to goal and I just took the shot and scored.”
Maria Gomez would extend Point Park’s lead to 2-0 with her second goal of the season about seven and a half minutes into the first half.
The Pioneers continued to build on their lead with a goal from Martina Cardemill, and would carry a 3-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
About six minutes into the second half, Pihlgren scored her second goal of the game to make it a 4-0 lead for the Pioneers.
“My second goal was a good play from the team, and then Paula served me a fantastic ball, so I only had to tap it in,” Pihlgren said. “I put in hard work the last few weeks and with the confidence I got from the team and coaching staff.”
After not scoring in the first three games of the season, Pihlgren has now had back-to-back two-goal games. She previously scored two goals in Point Park’s 10-0 win against Salem University on September 17.
“I have adjusted more into the team by playing games and started feeling more comfortable with my teammates, and the goals wouldn’t be scored without the teammates,” Pihlgren said. “We’re all starting to work great as a collective. But also from all the support and advice from the coaching staff.”
Maya Figueroa continued Point Park’s domination, scoring an unassisted goal 10 minutes later to give the Pioneers a 5-0 lead.
The Hilltoppers would finally show some life with about three minutes remaining in the game, ending the shutout bid for Point Park goalkeeper Frederieke Rijlaarsdam.
Rijlaarsdam, who had three saves against West Liberty, has backstopped the Pioneers for the entirety of their three-game winning streak, only giving up one goal in each of those wins.
“I think that we have a lot more confidence in ourselves this year,” Rijlaarsdam said about the Pioneer’s defensive effort. “This confidence was built during our Spring Season and continued in the Fall as we have a healthy competitive environment now. We want to build on this even more and keep our winning streak going.”
Point Park had a total of 16 shots against West Liberty, with seven of them being on-goal. The Hilltoppers had seven shots, with four of them on-goal.
In just the last two games, the Pioneers put up a total of 15 goals, and have outscored their opponents 17-1 during this winning streak.
“The Salem and West Liberty games allowed us to prove to ourselves that we can score goals,” Stewardson said. “I’m excited to see how we can use this confidence against Fairmont and Frostburg.”
The Pioneers will finish off their three-game road stint at Fairmont State today at 7 p.m., before returning home for Homecoming weekend on Saturday morning.
