Women’s First Team Falls to Milwaukee Torrent In Close 4-3 Match
- Gabi Vuong
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 26
The Women’s First Team faced Milwaukee Torrent at Holmgren Athletic Complex last Wednesday, a tough opponent who produced a 4-3 loss, knocking the Rooks out of the USASA Amateur Cup.
GOALS:
Rooks: Leigh 16’, Stephens 44’, Egan 84’
Torrent: 15’, 23’ 53’, 55’
The first half started off with Jocelyn Leigh and Molly Pistorius putting the pressure on Torrent’s defense. Both made shots on goal in the 2nd minute, but were stopped by the Torrent’s mounting defense. Leigh crossed the ball left to Pistorious again in the 10th minute, but was halted by Torrent’s goalkeeper.
The game was evenly matched from the start. An offensive player on Torrent crossed the ball toward ECFC goalkeeper Lucy Clark, where Clark made a jumping catch to lock down their defensive end. Lauren Hall then battled with a Torrent opponent afterwards to gain possession of the ball and then quickly sent it upfield to her teammates in response.
A Torrent player later brought the ball up the left side of the field in the 15th minute to make the first successful play of the game. Hall was there on defense and attempted a slide tackle, but Torrent’s offensive player evaded her in the box. Clark was ready and stood her ground, but the Torrent player passed to the other goal post, where her teammate was there ready in position. After getting the ball on the right side of the box the right side, she tapped the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, giving Torrent the 1-0 lead.
One minute later, Leigh responded. She ran the ball upfield through Torrent defense on the left and made a beautiful cross into the goal outside the box right past the goalkeeper who was not ready for the quick start, tying the game 1-1.
Despite the quick comeback, Torrent were still unphased. During the 23rd minute, a Torrent player brought the ball up the left side on the Rooks’ third again. Clark proceeded to make a sliding save but wasn’t there in time, with the ball rolling past her into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The intensity was still going strong for Torrent, but Hall and Skyler Bieker kept them out of the box with defensive pressure. Bella Scesniak, Scout Murray, and Pistorius chipped their way into the box but couldn't seem to get past the wall of the Torrent defense line.
Katharine Stephens's mindset was all about finishing and scoring for her team. In the 44th minute, Murray passed the ball to Stephens and made a solid kick. The ball crossed the goalkeeper and landed in the bottom right corner of the goal, successfully tying the game again 2-2. The game would continue to be tied into the end of the first half.
The second half started with the Rooks bringing all the offensive energy to the pitch, entering their box in right as the whistle blew. Torrent responded by taking possession back immediately and crossed the ball to the right of the Rooks’ box, but Clark was there to hold down the tied game.
A Torrent offensive player brought the ball up the left side of the field again and quickly made a shot past Clark in the 53rd minute, putting Torrent up 3-2. Only two minutes later, a Torrent player brought the ball up the right side of the field and went 1v1 with Clark. The shot ball rolled past Clark's left side and the score read 4-2. The Rooks were getting tired, but continued to encourage each other that the game was not over and that they needed to put their all into the rest of the half.
The second half turned physical between both teams as the Rooks were wanting to put themselves on the scoreboard again. Emily Olson stepped up her offensive game, initiating a free kick and attempted to score from just across the halfway line, but Torrent’s goalkeeper was there to catch her kick. Olson regained possession again and took a shot on goal but missed slightly left of the goal. In the 63rd minute, a series of Rooks corner kicks were issued with multiple opportunities to score thanks to midfielder Natasha Davenport, but they were unsuccessful to get past Torrent’s defense and goalkeeper.
Shortly after in the 84th minute, Kily Egan retrieved the ball from Bella Scesniak. From the front of the goal, Egan made her shot and blew the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner of the goal. Egan put the Rooks up to 4-3 before the end of the second half.
In the dying embers, the Rooks made all possible efforts to put themselves in a position to score one more time to tie the game and go into extra time. Leigh brought the ball up the field and took her shot but missed just right of the goal. She attempted to bring the ball up again but the Torrent defense was aggressive and would not let her pass. The last minutes ended with one last opportunity, a field kick initiated by Olson. Olson’s kick floated in the air above Clark, who was in position to help her teammates out with more bodies in the box. She jumped to kick the ball into the goal but missed the ball and made no contact. The end of the game remained 4-3.
The Rooks will face their next opponents, DeKalb County United for the second time this season, at 7:00 PM on June 21st back at Hoyne looking to come back from this loss.
