Macalester’s women’s soccer team played at Augsburg this Tuesday in what proved to be a very frustrating and one-sided match. After 110 minutes of regulation play and two overtimes, the score stood at 0-0. After the first 15 minutes the Scots dominated play, keeping the ball in their possession over 90 percent of the time. Augsburg was outshot 25-5 by the Mac women, who nearly doubled their average number of shots per game.

Two factors were largely to blame for the tie, one being the efforts of Auggie keeper Laura Hoffman and the other the unique surface of the Auggie field. The turf worked against the style of the Macalester soccer team, which relies more upon on the women’s strong passing ability and less on their speed. Unfortunately, the turf surface meant a faster-rolling ball, which was harder to control. The fake grassy material was also responsible for the ball spending a good deal of time bouncing around in the air, making it difficult for the Scots to capitalize on scoring opportunities. In an exciting moment during the second overtime, it looked as if the Macalester women had scored when the ball was momentarily lost from sight among a melee of players, but unfortunately it bounced off the post.

The way Augsburg fans were cheering during the closing minutes of the game suggested that they were relieved to get away with a draw. This was also evident in the positioning of the Augsburg team in the second half of the game. The Auggies played the majority of their team back in the midfield or as defenders leaving only one Auggie to play forward. This strategy led to a great deal of crowding around the Auggie goal, making it hard for the Scots to get a clear shot. The Scots were unphased by the opposing team’s playing style due to the fact that this year’s team “has a lot more physical size and brute strength,” according to Jessica Bullen ’05.

Head Coach John Leaney countered the Auggie strategy by utilizing an unusual 3-5-2 setup in which two Mac women played wide in an effort to keep the ball inbounds while leaving only keeper Lisa Bauer ’04 and two defenders to guard against breakaways by the Auggies. This game marked Bauer’s 15th consecutive conference shutout, a seemingly unbreakable record. Coach Leaney was pleased with the efforts of defender Erla Petursdottir ’04, saying, “Erla made the right decisions defensively.” Leaney was also impressed by forward Annie Borton ’07. “Annie made a number of good touches,” and adapted well to the turf surface, he said.

The consistent attacking by Macalester was a major change from last year’s more conservative style of play, which Coach Leaney said will pay off in future games. Despite the frustrating results, the team is still very optimistic about the future, citing that this year’s team has both more depth and options for scoring long with a terrific first-year class. The Macalester women will take on St. Mary’s Tuesday, September 16 at home and are hoping for your support.