The University of Dallas women’s soccer team’s season ended on Saturday Nov. 3 as they were knocked out of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament by No. 2 seed Southwestern University Pirates by a score of 2-0. The Crusaders finished the season with a 3-11-4 overall record and a conference record of 2-8-2.
Dallas opened the season with a trip to California. Their first official game was against the University of La Verne where Dallas secured a positive result with a 1-1 draw against a solid opponent. Freshman Bekah Gonzalez from Reno, Nev., scored the lone goal for the Crusaders that day, registering her first career goal.
The home opener for Dallas marked the first conference game on the new match field for both men’s and women’s teams. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they ended up losing the game 3-2 to SCAC newcomer Johnson and Wales University even though Dallas outshot the Wildcats 18-12.
The first win for Dallas came the very next game against non-conference opponent, Howard Payne University. The Crusaders were able to find the back of the net four times and only conceded one goal in a resounding victory. Junior midfielder Elisa Duran from Pomona, Calif., had a standout performance against the Yellow Jackets with three goals achieving her first career hat trick..
Dallas managed two more regular season wins after the result against Howard Payne. On Sept. 28, 19 days after Howard Payne, Dallas came up with home 1-0 win against conference opponent Schreiner University. This result marked the first conference win for Dallas of the season, as well as the first clean sheet. The next win for Dallas came four days later at home against Austin College 2-1.
At the end of the season, Dallas managed to find themselves in the SCAC tournament as the No. 6 seed. This was the first appearance for the Crusaders in the SCAC tournament since 2015. Dallas pulled a huge first round upset against the No. 3 seed Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs. Regulation time and overtime were insufficient to settle the game. Tied 2-2 UD headed to a nerve wracking penalty kick shootout to decide the game. The players who converted from the penalty spot were freshmen Le Lien from Katy, Texas, and Maddie Rodriguez from San Antonio, Texas, senior Mason Cosgrove from Las Cruces, N.M. , and the game winner was taken by Duran. Junior goalkeeper Olivia Severson from La Crosse, Wis., came up huge for the Crusaders by saving two Bulldog penalties and totalling a season-high 13 saves in the 110 minute match.
“Our quarterfinal game was very exciting,” said Dallas Head Coach Lexi Stinson. “Winning in penalty kicks and dog-piling after is always a thrill.”
Dallas advanced to play the No. 2 seed Southwestern. Southwestern proved too much for Dallas and won the contest 2-0.
Several Crusaders were nominated for All-Conference Honors. Elisa Duran, Le Lien, and freshman Monica O’Donnell from Lincoln, Nebraska, were named to 2nd team All-Conference, while Olivia Severson was distinguished with a place on the All-Conference honorable mention team.
“Getting to the tournament and advancing to the semifinal was a great experience that we hope to continue to build on so that we can go even further next year,” Coach Stinson commented.
It was a long and demanding season for Dallas with a lot of cancellations and complications due to inclement weather, but there were a lot of positives to take away from it. The Crusaders look to come back next season and build on the successes of this year.
