MOON TOWNSHIP – It was a rollercoaster of emotions for fans of the Robert Morris women’s soccer team Sunday at the North Athletic Complex, as they drew 2-2 with St. Bonaventure.
What started as a gorgeous, sunny afternoon quickly turned sour for the ladies, as within the first twenty-five minutes they found themselves down 2-0.
“To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed with how we started the match,” Coach Shaw said.
After a penalty against the run of play, the Bonnies turned it on and pressured the Colonials much like Indiana did the previous week, leading to a foul that resulted in a second goal.
“Obviously we dug ourselves a bit of a hole with a penalty and set-piece goal, and then I feel like we settled down the last twenty, twenty-five and started to have more of the play,” Shaw continued.
And settle down they did. Those two goals would come from the only two shots the Bonnies had in the first half. After the hydration break in the first, the Colonials started to look more like themselves, carving out a couple of chances including winning a missed penalty.
That meant that as they walked into the locker room at the half, the Colonials found themselves in a two-goal deficit.
“We just talked about dealing with adversity,” Coach Shaw said about his message at the break. “Every season you’re gonna deal with adversity and here it was.”
When asked about how that translated into the second half, Shaw said, “They were phenomenal. I mean they came out fired up.” He continued, “They’re a mature group and it was less about what I said and more about how they delt with dealing with adversity.”
One woman who came out fired up was sophomore forward Renae Mohrbacher. Mohrbacher had some nice touches in the first half but finished in the second. “She’s been fantastic for us.” Coach Shaw stated. “The quality is there we’ve just needed her to score more.”
The goals were there for her today. Early in the 2nd half, Mohrbacher picked up the ball from just outside the left corner of the eighteen-yard box and lofted a beautiful curler into the upper right-hand corner.
“Both of the coaches have been telling me sometimes I just have to turn and hit it,” Mohrbacher said. “And that first goal was exactly that.”
Like her first goal, Mohrbacher’s quick thinking and reaction time she landed her second goal. After the ball landed at her feet after a deflected cross, the sophomore buried it to an eruption from the crowd.
“As soon as it dropped down I was like oh the goalkeeper again, she was sucked into the other side so I knew I had to just place it in on that far side,” Mohrbacher said.
The Colonials couldn’t find the winner even with the momentum and home crowd behind them.
“I think it was twelve shots to four, eight corners to zero, ball off the post, ball off the crossbar,” Coach Shaw praised. “They were fantastic in that second half.”
Unfortunately, the draw does see the program’s record-breaking win streak end but still sees them undefeated. They hope to keep an unblemished record next time when they play at Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m.
