Lady Hornets Buzz-Killed by Smith

The Lyndon women's soccer team had a minor setback to their two game winning streak Wednesday after a tough loss to the Smith College Lady Pioneers 3-0.

With the absence of Sarah Cornell (concussion), Adele Zeh (concussion), Ashley Barski (mononucleosis) and the lack of offensive firepower of Emily Strese, the Lady Hornets saw their chances dwindle early.

Coach Wendy Elles accredited their lackluster gameplay Wednesday to the chemistry shown on the field during the match.

"Even at warm-up and at the start of the game, I knew we weren't ready for the match." Coach Elles said. "Today was not a good display of team chemistry by any means."

Smith wasted no time, scoring just seven minutes into the contest. The first goal came off a corner kick, which turned into a mishap by Lyndon State rookie goalkeeper Dannika Dobrowski.

Dobrowski then settled down, saving 14 of the next 17 shots that came at her.

"Outside of the first mistake Dannika made, she played with a lot of heart," said Coach Elles.

The Lady Hornets were outplayed in the first half, being outshot 16-4. The second half was a taste of déjà vu for the Hornets, seeing Smith scoring again just four minutes in.

There was also a daunting moment about an hour into the match when midfielder Katy Ebner went down clutching her leg. She was assisted off the field and remained on the sidelines for the rest of the match.

"When I hit the ground, I was like, I don't even know what was going through my head, just pain," Ebner said.

The Lady Pioneers added insult to injury late with a goal 87 minutes in to extend their lead to 3-0.

Freshman Kajay Rooke, who logged 14 minutes in the match against Smith, said it was apparent that the team was struggling on Wednesday.

"I saw a little bit of disorganization and a lot of rushing to the ball," Rooke said. "We are definitely a different team than we were [against Smith], usually we're a lot tighter as a group."

Rooke also realized that it's not just "on the field" where problems may arise.

"It's been a really rough week for a lot of [the team]," Rooke stated. "Everything was catching back up with everyone, both academically and non-academically."

Injuries may have plagued the women's soccer team, but confident words from Coach Elles hints there may be hope on the horizon.

"We're hoping for Saturday," she said when talking about the return date for leading scorer Cornell.

When Katy Ebner was asked about whether she'd be back on the field in time for the upcoming match she said, "I'm feeling halfway decent, but we'll take it one step at a time."