Friday at 5 p.m. The Union University women’s soccer team tied Delta State University 0-0 in its first home game. The game was their second in the Gulf South Conference, and they successfully prevented DSU from taking home the winner’s three conference points.
The Lady Bulldogs now have a 2-0-3 record this season and are 1-0-1 in the GSC, with their first game against Christian Brothers being a 1-0 win in their favor.
Although DSU outshot Union 11-5 in shots on goal, Union’s goalkeeper Dehlia Plalcie recorded 11 saves, with nine of them being in the second half.
“It was good that we kept a shutout. It’s a credit to our keeper and our defense,” defender Bethany Guinness, a junior nursing major said.
Forward Lucia Revuelto led Union with three shots, with defender Ella Neely and midfielder Carly Vangiesen adding two shots. In the final minutes of the game, Rebekah Jackson nearly scored, but was foiled by the DSU goalkeeper, Piper Burgess.
The crowd was larger than usual due to it being Union’s annual family weekend celebration. Parents and siblings filled the bleachers, leading chants and cheering on the players.
“We love it when we have a lot of fans and it motivates us to play harder,” Guinness said. “But there was definitely pressure to perform just because it was a conference game.”
Defender Tessa Erzen, a junior sports management major, said that with the season only two games in, the team is working toward the goals of unity, with freshmen additions as well as transfers.
“We have different playing styles, and we just have to find a way to make them all work together,” Erzen said.
Although Union did not get the victory, the Lady Bulldogs continue to look optimistically at the season.
“We all gave it 100% and we had a team discussion before about winning the small battles and that translates on a bigger scale,” Guinness said.
The Lady Bulldogs look to take on Mississippi College on Sunday.
