BY LEAH SHIFREL

Starting out a game strong is a double edged sword. You have the lead and the confidence, but are you able to keep your ground and outlast the opponent?

Denison Women’s Soccer found themselves in a tricky spot this past week when they traveled to Indiana to face the Depauw Tigers.

It was a tough and tight game and the final score was 1-1 after 90 hard-fought minutes.

Forward Ariel Loevy ‘22 draws some takeaways from the game in respect to her own personal performance.

“I work on getting my shots off faster. We started the season really strong with a lot of goals and I want to continue to add to that,” Loevy said.

Both teams were putting in their all, with Denison tallying 13 shots on goal throughout the night. However, they were unable to convert on any more attempts after their early score.

On the other side, DePauw refused to give in. Just ten minutes after Denison’s goal, Mallory Dillon fed Bailey Ehrens, leading to a game-tying goal.

A stalemate continued throughout the game.

The two teams battled it out through all 110 minutes of regulation and overtime. O’Neil ‘21 and Denison goalie Patil Tcholakian ‘22 were the team leaders throughout the game. In addition to the opening goal, O’Neill ‘21 had two of her three shots on goal, and Tcholakian ‘22 had two saves.

Only Alex Berkley of DePauw was able to get a shot on goal during the first overtime period. Then in the second leg of overtime, Berkley tried again and Tcholakian ‘22 came up with a massive stop.

Although games like this can be tough, Women’s Soccer uses their experience to improve as a team. They are very close as a unit, and Kloff ‘20 adds, “Everyone is so supportive and our team is so talented, which makes playing on the field easier and improves our communication.”

A major part of the team’s strength in communication comes from the comradery between the women up and down the roster.

Loevy ‘22 says upperclassman have been extremely welcoming, making the team close on and off the field.

“When we first came here for preseason, the upperclassmen made a really strong effort to bring us into this family. Now, we spend most of our time together. We continue to do most things together whether its homework or going to lunch together. All of the grades mix well and I think it was really easy for the freshmen to join in,” Loevy ‘22 said.

The Big Red emerged from the DePauw tie, the team’s third conference game of the year, with a strong record of 6-2-2 (1-0-2 North Coast Athletic Conference).

Denison Women’s Soccer returns to Barclay-Thomsen Field on Wednesday, October 10 when they host Oberlin College for a 7:30 p.m. game under the lights.