You can’t win them all.
Denison Women’s Soccer suffered a surprising loss Wednesday evening to Wittenberg in an overtime thriller. Coming into the game as the #1 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Big Red (12-2-2) were the heavy favorites versus the Tigers (5-9-4).
Even though the Big Red exited the NCAC tournament early, the statistics of the game proved that the Big Red dominated the game.
Denison put up 13 shots on target, with four of those coming from the game’s shot leader, Abby King ‘22, who also scored the only goal for the Big Red. King gave the team the lead in the first half, scoring in the 27th minute.
The shots kept coming, but none could find the back of the net past the Tigers’ goalkeeper, Kelly Corbin. Corbin put up 12 saves in the game.
Despite the early exit, the players acknowledge
“This season was filled with ups and downs, but ultimately, we have grown so much as a program,” says Smith.
Smith and her teammates certainly have good reason to be proud of their season despite the early exit from the NCAC Tournament. They outscored their opponents by a margin of 37-11 over the course of the year and have enough offensive firepower to match up against Division III’s best.
According to Smith, the family atmosphere around the team only adds to her want for more.
“We are truly a family and that is going to make it so much more difficult to hang my cleats up,” Smith said.
Also keeping Smith interested is what the team has given and taught her.
“This team has taught me to value friendship, hard work, and teamwork. My four years as a part of DUWS has and will influence me for the rest of my life. I loved every minute.”
Despite not seeing their names on Monday’s selection show, nobody can deny how great the season was for this team. As for next year, the team will look to use this season’s snub as fuel.