On Saturday, Oct. 21 the Vulcans Women’s Soccer Team hosted their breast cancer awareness game with donations going to the Bloom Foundation.gives. Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women and on average in the United States, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Before the game started, attendees who preordered a “No One Fights Alone” t-shirt were able to pick them up during the game. The Women’s Soccer Team wore their shirts to support the fight against breast cancer, and the attendees filled the stands in their best pink-out gear. For more information about the Bloom Foundation.gives click here.
Under Saturday’s shiver-inducing overcast sky, the Clarion Golden Eagles roosted into a 2-1 victory over the California Vulcans on the Phillipsburg turf.
Clarion represented the insidious hope of California’s first victory in 35 days. Nine games prior, the Vulcans returned home from Clarion with a clean sheet and victory in their pockets. As the home crowd hummed Sir Francis Scott Key’s anthem, hope submerged Phillipsburg.
With an experienced backline to build up from, the Vulcans painted the field in methodical possession. The home team owned the ball for the first half, playing their best half since opening night against Lock Haven. A prideful warmth of a march forward as our ladies passed from defense to midfield to attack. Romeis MacArthured the march, Iadiccio & DeGlopper framed it while Elwood envisioned it.
Eventually, Clarion cracked first. In the 13th minute, Junior goalkeeper Velaz rushed out of her box to clear an attempted Vulcan through pass. She fell victim to bad luck as the ball took an awkward bounce right into her now illegal hand, resulting in a Vulcan free kick. Lorina Romeis placed the ball on the edge of the box. As the visitors situated their four-man wall, her teammate Lilly Iadicicco whispered a promise into her, “aim lower left corner”. Moments later, the ref blew his whistle, the wall leaped and promise met reality as Romeis’s shot tattooed the net’s lower left-hand corner. 1-0, Vulcans.
The Vulcans kept the sheet clean for 63 minutes. A remarkable feat made possible by numerous last-second tackles by Lilly Hanson, Ouimet’s stout goalkeeping, and the team’s ability to maintain the majority of possession. However, Lady Luck lives within her own whims.
Free kicks are the great equalizer in soccer. Any team, regardless of their stature or the match’s momentum, has the potential to score from them. In the 75th minute, Clarion won a free kick three yards into the Vulcan’s side of the field. Golden Eagle defender Reese Aquillo launched the ball towards the crowded penalty area, forward Jaci Bowser flicked it into the mixer, and Freshman Ciara DiMauro cleaned up shop, scoring her fourth goal of the season. Clarion had scrapped their way back into the contest, tie game.
With the confidence of scoring rushing through their veins, the visitors turned the match into a 50:50 skirmish. Freshman Alyssa Aquillo catalyzed Clarion’s attack, soaking up the space left behind by the forward pressing of the Vulcan fullbacks. In the 77th minute, Aquillo cut down the Vulcan left flank, shouldered past the recovering Hanson, and ripped a shot from a tight angle. Ouimet smothered the shot, denying Lady Fate for the time being.
In the game’s twilight, Fortuna and Lakshmi conspired together for a Clarion victory. In the 85th minute, Isabella DeGlopper forgot the power on a routine back pass to goalkeeper Ouimet. Aquillo snatched up the loose pass, nicked the opportunity past the on-rushing Ouimet and the smell of victory wafted into her nostrils. 2-1, Clarion.
Five minutes later, the ref blew the final whistle. The sky grew a little grayer, turf comforted Vulcan knees and the home fans moved in silence for a short time. Empty hope exhausts. However the grass still grows green, the trees still hold leaves and the season still marches on. The Texas Rangers and the Phoenix Diamondbacks both lost over 100 games two years ago. Next week, they face each other in the World Series. In 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles finished the season 4-11-1, last in the NFC East. In 2023, the Eagles faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the Superbowl. Defeat strengthens the loser more than victory to the victor. The Vulcans’ minds must not become callused to the education provided by consecutive defeats.
On Wednesday, Pitt-Johnstown defeated California 2-0 on the Mountain Cats’ grass field. The Vulcans face Slippery Rock away, and then host both IUP and Mercyhurst to wrap up the season at home. Every game this point forward is a playoff game for the Vulcans. The great Otis Redding and the iconic Sam Cooke sang it best, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” That is a promise from history to all of us: everything lacks permanence.
