The Monmouth College women’s soccer team secured their first win of the season this past Friday against Buena Vista University. The game featured three goals from the Monmouth team with sophomore Madison Walker, sophomore Sophie Roberts, and senior Jordyn Gosell all getting on the board to bring the final game score to 3-1 with a Scots win.
Starting the first half, it didn’t take long for the Scots to get their first goal, only a mere four minutes and forty-five seconds into the game. Blasting the ball past the BVU keeper, Madison Walker scored the first goal of her college career, bringing the Scots to a lead early in the game. Head Coach Lucas Henderson commented on the Scots’ scoring first in three of the four games they played recently and how it gave the team a huge confidence boost that they carried with them throughout the game. That goal led the team to sixteen first half shots and seven corner kicks before achieving their next score.
“I’m very happy to be back on the field this year,” said sophomore Madison Walker. “Last year, without having our season, it was a bit rough. I love to play and be on the field, so starting off this season strong against the teams in our conference is very important to me. I believe that with the coming games, we will get stronger and better bonded as a team, so that when the end of our season comes, we will be prepared.
The first goal confidence boost continued through the first half of the game with Sophie Roberts scoring the Scots’ second goal just before half time. She, too, scored her first career goal just before the end of the first half, making the shot unassisted.
Out of the gate in the second half, Buena Vista got on the board with only 4:31 into the half to bring the score board to 2-1. Although there were multiple attempts throughout the half, the Scots were not able to regain their two goal lead until the 80:00 mark of the game when sophomore Kimberly Lopez assisted Jordyn Gosell in scoring the final goal of the game. Not only did Gosell score in the game Friday, but she also leads the Scots with three goals total for the season, scoring in three straight games.
The Scots scored not only their first win since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but also the first win of Henderson’s career at Monmouth after being hired in December. Coach Henderson was doused in Gatorade in celebration during the post-game huddle.
The team heads to Indianola, IA to face Simpson College on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
Brooke McCormick - Sports Editor