Audrey Richardson
Staff Writer
On Nov. 6, in the North Coast Athletic Conference semifinals, The College of Wooster women’s soccer team lost to the DePauw University Tigers. The game, which took place at DePauw’s home field, marked a reversal of fortunes from the teams’ previous encounter just a few days earlier when Wooster defeated the Tigers 1-0.
DePauw struck early, finding the back of the net just 4 minutes into the match. This early setback put Wooster in a difficult position, but the team remained resilient.
Maggie Stieby ’25 reflected on the challenge of conceding an early goal. “Early goals are always really unfortunate,” said Stieby. “It puts you on the wrong foot, and it’s hard to stay mentally locked in. For us, before we go out on the field, we always talk about the importance of uplifting each other up and being positive. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a goal but we had close opportunities. We focused on each moment in itself and not what happened before.”
The Scots attempted to regroup after conceding the early goal, focusing on their strengths. “We had to do what we’re good at,” said head coach David Brown. “Trying to keep possession, trying to spread the field out, trying to get good matchups where we could create chances. I thought we did that. After the goal for the rest of the first half, [we] had probably had four or five really good chances. We couldn’t get enough time on the ball, couldn’t get a good enough strike on the ball, their goalkeeper made a couple of nice saves.”
Wooster persevered throughout the entire game. Stieby praised the team’s unwavering effort, “Our work ethic was really strong throughout the whole entire game. There were some players that were really physical on the other team and I think we did a good job of matching that.”
Despite the loss, the team took pride in their performance and team dynamic. “I am proud of the team chemistry and attitude,” said Ellie Saguto ’25. “It is the most amazing group of girls and everyone has each other’s backs, everyone encourages and uplifts everyone even at the worst times. I am proud of being able to have that comradery and be in such a positive and healthy environment.”
This game concluded the Scots’ impressive season with a record of 11-4-3, reaching double-digit wins for the fourth time in the last 5 seasons. Coach Brown reflected on the team’s growth, “I am proud of the development of the players. I think we were very different at the end of the season than from the beginning of the season. I think we’ve competed all the way through and put together a successful run of games. We’ve had great leadership from our senior class and they have given us everything that they could. I am proud of all of that. We’ve got a team that has worked extremely hard and pulled together and that’s the rewarding thing for us, looking back at.”
Fighting Scots Soccer will return next fall. Go Scots!