The Waynesburg University women’s soccer team opened play for the 2019 season with two games this past weekend with a 1-0 win over Lancaster Bible College and a 3-2 loss to Penn State Harrisburg.

The Yellow Jackets began the season in Lancaster, PA Friday by shutting out the Chargers.

Defense was the story of the day, with both teams combining for just 13 shots and Waynesburg holding Lancaster to no shots on goal.

The lone goal of the contest wasn’t  scored until the 83rd minute, when junior Emily Hill headed a cross pass from senior Teagan Jenner past LBU goalkeeper Erin Mikula to break the deadlock. The defense would hold on to give Waynesburg their first win of the season. 

Head coach Laura Heethuis, attributed the win to a focus on defense and believes that focus will lead to more success for the Jackets this season.

“We typically always start out our preseason every year cementing our defensive play and what we want to do,” Heethuis said. “If we can be really good defensively, we are going to be very hard to beat.”

Waynesburg then made the trip to Harrisburg. After Waynesburg struggled on offense in the season opener, sophomore Leesha Wagner provided a spark Saturday, scoring two goals on just two shots.

Wagner’s first goal of the afternoon found the back of the net in the 17th minute, giving the Jackets an early 1-0 lead. After Penn State Harrisburg tied the match early in the second half, Wagner struck again in the 63rd minute to give the Jackets the lead once again. 

“If she’s somewhere around the box and can put a shot on frame, she’s got a rocket of a shot that she just needs to hit it, she just needs to get that half to one step spacing to get it off,” Heethuis said.“On Saturday she got herself into two places at the right time and was able to head the ball in. So she has shown that she can do several things by scoring with her feet but also with her head which is awesome to have.”

Wagner’s individual  heroics wouldn’t translate to a positive team result. Two late goals in the last ten minutes of the match gave the Lions the advantage they needed to secure a 3-2 victory.

Despite the loss, Heethuis is still encouraged by what she saw from her team this weekend.

“The goals that we gave up on Saturday were basically off of our own mistakes,” Heethuis said. “If we can limit those we are going to be a really good team and be super hard to beat.”

Waynesburg is on the road again this week, traveling to La Roche Tuesday and Marietta Saturday before opening it’s home schedule against Muskingum next Wednesday.

“Our sights are set on Tuesday,” said Heethuis. “La Roche is typically a very physical team coming into things so we just have to make sure we can match the physical battle.”

Overall, Heethuis believes everything is starting to come together for her team.

“Things are starting to come into place, it’s just a matter of continuing to get used to each other a little bit and bringing that competitive edge to the game.”