Nicole Robinson

Two eight-win women’s soccer teams, the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds and the Loras College Duhawks (Iowa), were scheduled to play Sunday at Bollinger field. However, it seemed at 2 p.m., only the Duhawks came ready to play.

Nearly one year ago, the Eau Claire women lost to Loras College 4-1 in Dubuque, Iowa, but the physical ‘Golds battled through almost 87 minutes of scoreless soccer Sunday to notch the game-winning goal with 3:24 left on the clock.

“I think it was a good game … very physical,” junior midfielder Emily Meisinger said. “And we were lucky to put one in at the end, for a good win.”

For nearly the entire first half, the ‘Golds fought for ball control as the Duhawks maintained a seemingly constant offensive possession. Coupled with referee disputes and injuries, the Duhawks and Blugolds became insatiably physical with an endless array of tackles, grabbing, tripping, pushing and even punching.

The Blugold team that released late had no shots on goal in the first half but, rushed onto the field with an entirely new demeanor in the second half.

“I think we came out in the second half with our guns loaded and ready to put them in their place,” senior midfielder Marcia Foltz said. “We showed them we weren’t gonna let them walk out of here with a win and definitely not a tie.”

The team that played tattered and torn in the first half, came out in the second with composure, patience and a fierce drive. With their feet constantly on the gas pedal, the strong Blugold women soon would force Loras to wither.

“We are just physically in better shape. We ran them into the ground in the last five minutes and they didn’t have any gas left,” Foltz said.

With only four goals allowed all season, the Blugolds’ impressive defense would come under fire early from the physical Loras team.

“They’re fast, they’re physical, very fit, and they’re one of the better teams we’ve played,” Meisinger said.

Of Loras’ four shots on goal in the game, two of them floated out of the goalkeeper’s reach hitting the crossbar. Had either of those shots been a mere six inches lower, the game would have panned out differently.

The scrappy defensive play on both sides of the ball yielded an impressive five shots on goal throughout the game. While four of them were notched by the Duhawks, the lone shot on goal by Meisinger earned the ‘Golds a third-straight win.

“As the scoreboard shows, it was a great defensive battle,” coach Sean Yengo said in his ninth season coaching the Blugolds. “Ironically, we only had one shot on goal, but that’s all it took.”

With the clock winding down to less than five minutes to play, a red-hot Foltz broke away from the Loras defense screaming a perfect pass to Meisinger for the one-timer goal.

“It’s more of a team effort, I think if you have a good team that supports you you’ll get your chances to show what you have,” Foltz said.

Foltz, who earned player of the week honors, piled on her fifth assist on the season, while Meisinger notched her second game-winning goal.

“I had a slow start to the season and missed a lot of shots on goal, but it was good to put one in today,” she said.

Still undefeated at home and in conference, the ‘Golds look forward to some important conference match-ups this weekend, Yengo said as his team advanced to 9-1-2 overall. To improve its chances against UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point this weekend, Yengo said the team will concentrate on possession and transition offense this week.

“We need to focus on the little things to make the difference,” Yengo said.

While the Blugolds came out victorious Sunday, Foltz said it might not be so lucky in the future.

“One of our biggest goals this season is to come out and play a full 90 minutes instead of a good 45,” Foltz said.

The women will take on the Warhawks at 3 p.m. on Friday when they head to Whitewater.