Women’s soccer home opener results in a tie

Neither team could reach the back of the net Aug. 20 as the University of Richmond women’s soccer team’s match against the University of Nevada ended in a 0-0 tie. 

After scoring early in their match against Longwood Aug. 17, the Spiders were put on their heels from the jump against the Wolf Pack as Nevada had a shot 13 seconds into the first half. 

The Spiders were able to get to the other side of the field in their own right, setting up four corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play, but overall, gameplay from both teams proved back-and-forth for the entire game.

“Yeah, no, overall we gotta be pleased with the performance,” UR head coach Adam Denton said in a postgame interview. “I think we played some good stuff halfway through the first half and the second half, second half especially, controlled, good periods of the game, good possession, created some opportunities.” 

Throughout the game, UR had nine shots, two of which were on goal. Nevada, on the other hand, had 11 shots, five of which were on goal. Graduate forward Molly Wierman led the way offensively with three shots on the match. Junior defender Sophia Mancino was not far behind with two shots. 

“The only disappointing part of the game was probably how we started,” Denton said. “I think we weren’t aggressive enough. We were under a little bit of pressure, caused ourselves some problems by not seeing [Nevada’s] pressure and playing into trouble. But again, the positive of that is we grew into the game after a poor start.”

Defensively, senior goalie and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, Taylor Montague, led the charge with five saves, bringing her total to six saves through two games on the young season. Montague has yet to allow a goal through the season’s first 180 minutes of gameplay. 

“[Montague] was very efficient back there, solid back there, commanding, and came up with that big save when we needed it,” Denton said, referring to one of Montague’s diving saves in the second half. 

First-year defender Gwen Howell was awarded A-10 Rookie of the Week for her efforts in his first two collegiate starts. 

UR’s next game is at home against the College of William & Mary at 5 p.m. Aug. 24. 

“We’re disappointed to tie the game, but we need to do a little bit more on that final third to make sure we win that game,” Denton said. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.