Capital Invitational

This past weekend Capital Woman's Soccer had back to back games here at Bernlohr for the Capital University Invitational Tournament.

During Friday's game, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) scored the first goal in the 26th minute. Going into the half we were down 0-1 but only a few minutes after play resumed Capital was set up for a corner kick. When the ball was played out of the box Claire Quinn met it with a one touch shot from the outskirts of the 18 box tying up the game! Only 10 minutes later, Capital's Amanda Kachaylo scored again to gain the lead. Only having the lead for 8 minutes, MSOE scored to tie up the game 2-2. After that goal the Crusaders decided to pick up the pace and attack the goal with tenacity because only minutes after Emily Krause scored to once again take the lead making the score 3-2. Soon after, Taylor Atkins got a flighted ball in the air where she had a first time shot that went over the keepers head to make the game 4-2. The Crusaders kept off MSOE for a good 10 minutes until they scored again in the 83rd minute. At 4-3, the game came to a close with Capital as the Victor. Although there was a back and forth battle for the lead, Capital came out on top  and ended the day with a 3-0-0 record.

Only 24 hours later the Capital Crusaders kicked off again against Allegheny (Pa.). Throughout the first half both teams were neck and neck as we battled to gain the lead. Going into the second half the game was still scoreless at 0-0. In the 65th minute however, Shelby Johnson received a pass from Becca Cartmill and was able to break away and make the shot leaving the Crusaders with a 1 goal lead. Despite all efforts to keep the lead, we were scored on by a corner kick chance which tied the game and then scored on again from a shot just outside the 18 box. Once trailing, the team gave much effort to tie the game once again but had no success. The final score was 1-2 leaving the Crusaders with an overall record of 3-1-0.

This past weekend brought a tough loss but it only fuels the fires within us to get better as a team and strive everyday to be excellent. There were learning opportunities and the loss gave way to the ability to grow from pain and disappointment. This week will be a golden opportunity to fix the problems experienced this weekend and focus on our next challenge coming this Weekend. Capital takes on Waynesburg at Bernlohr Stadium on Friday at 5:30pm. On Sunday we face Carnegie Mellon at home at 4:30. Two great chances to show our strengths and assets!

On The Road

This past weekend Capital Woman's soccer took off to Pennsylvania to take on Penn St Altoona and Juniata back to back! Leaving early Friday morning for our 5 hour journey to Altoona we had no idea the difficulties that we would endure. Once we arrived safe and sound at Penn St Altoona our girls put aside the struggles and focused on the task in front of us. We came out on top with a win 3-1 and goals were scored by Amanda Kachaylo(1) and Becca Cartmill(2)!

We stayed over night and and woke up ready to tackle the next challenge, two games in two days! On our drive to Juniata however we witnessed something no one could have predicted. An Amish horse and buggy was in an accident with an SUV which occurred just moments before we passed by.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mary and Daniel Swarey along with their horse. May you rest in peace.
Seeing this terrible tragedy left an impact on all of us and gave us a reminder that every life is precious and to be thankful everyday for the gifts we are given.

Arriving at the Juniata campus the mood was sad and our minds were elsewhere other than focusing on the game, which was to be expected. Although we could have let this occurrence take over our emotions, focus and mentality, we banded together to finish our last obstacle of the weekend. We were exhausted from a game just 24 hours before, our hearts were heavy with grief for the Swarey family, and we had every reason to give up. Even with these aspects against us we, once again, came out on top with win 2-1! Goals came from Amanda Kachaylo and Becca Cartmill!

Even though we had struggles and difficulties along the way, ultimately our team was able to come together and do what we set out to do this past weekend. Two wins in two days truly shows the strength our team has not only together but individually as well.

Next weekend, September 5th and 6th, we take on MSOE and Allegheny here at our Bernlohr stadium. Friday at 3:30pm and Saturday at 3pm! Please come out and support your Crusaders with purple pride! Can't wait to see you there!

Eventful Weekend

This past weekend was full of excitement for our Woman's Soccer team! Friday we started the 2014 season off with an exhibition game against Case Western Reserve University. All together the exhibition match was a great opportunity to locate areas that need improvement and areas that we have strength in.  Our goal was scored by Monique Hanayik after a beautiful build up the middle of the field. The exhibition game revealed to us that we have some aspects of the game to work on but with how hard our girls have been working every day is a step in the right direction! Hard work, dedication, and perseverance will allow us to reach our goals! It was also good to see so much support from families and friends during the game!

On Saturday we had past players come back to Bernlohr and participate in our annual Alumni game! There was a tremendous turnout this year with 20+ alumni present! It was great to see so many familiar faces and good to see that the alumni haven't lost their spark on the field! The competition was friendly, exciting, and a wonderful opportunity to reminisce on old times while supporting our current 2014 team! Hope to see those faces again throughout the season!

 

There is a reserve game at Bernlohr Stadium at 6pm tomorrow, Tuesday the 26th against Cedarville! Hope to see you there!
This weekend we are on the road to play Penn St-Altoona and Juniata!

A Great Beginning

This years preseason has been full of hard work, determination and perseverance, which are characteristics we love to see! The girls have spent 5 days practicing twice a day through the heat, humidity, rain and shine! Even though muscles were sore, feet heavy, and bodies exhausted they pushed through the struggles and met their challenges head on! Now that 2 a days are complete the girls are taking time to focus on healing and relaxing their minds and bodies with yoga every day. Not only is it important for us to be physically focused but also mentally focused as we start our 2014 season! Our first exhibition game is scheduled for Friday August 22 at 6pm at home against Case Western. This will be our first test as a new team and another opportunity to propel ourselves to excellence.

 

Come out and support your Capital Crusaders this Friday with purple pride!

And so it begins!

With the NSCAA Rankings show yesterday confirming it we now know that Capital Women's Soccer begins the 2014 season with the potential to be one of the best NCAA Division III teams in the nation!

Press clippings are nice but we will use this nod as more fuel for our journey to excellence.  By focusing on the process for excellence, and doing the little things every day, we believe the results will fall our way more often than not!

Our journey truly gets underway on August 15 when the players report and we can't wait for the ride!