Coming off a narrow loss to Baldwin Wallace University over the weekend, the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets got back into the win column Tuesday night when they traveled to Highmark Stadium. They took down Carlow University by a final score of 4-1.

     With the Jackets now sitting at 3-1-1 with one game and one reserve game left before conference play begins, head coach George DeAugustino spoke on how his team is responding to such an optimistic start following their appearance in the semifinals of the PAC playoffs just a year ago.

     “It’s been fun, and I’m excited about the group we have. We had a really good year last year. We lost pieces, but we brought back a lot of key returners, and we have also brought in some freshmen that have made an impact right away,” DeAugustino said, elaborating how even in their loss, he can see the potential that his squad is showing. “We’ve really played well over the first month here in preseason and regular season here, playing a really good style. Even in that loss to Baldwin Wallace, it was a closely contested battle. Even in the tightly contested battle, we had a chance to come out on top a couple of times.”

     DeAugustino commented on the double teams being drawn by sophomore Julz Mohrbacher, which has opened up opportunities for Reagan Mittendorf and Hailey Gilchrest. The latter scored the second goal of their most recent match.

     “She [Gilchrest] is playing really well right now, scored three times now in a five game span. Dating back to last year, she ended the year very strong and it just kept continue to go,” DeAugustino said, tying back the first times he watched her play in high school, “I watched her play while recruiting her as a defender, she came here, found out very quickly that she could score goals, moved her up front and she delivered.”

     Gilchrest also weighed in on how her team’s work in practice was rewarded during the contest.

     “We had been working on finishing crosses the night before and to see that show up on the field is a rewarding feeling knowing that everything we have worked on rolls over into game play,” Gilchrest said. 

     Carlow was the first of the team’s three competitions for this week. Waynesburg took on Division II Glenville State on Thursday, Sept. 19 in a reserve game, before a bout at home against Mount Aloysius on Saturday, Sept. 21. Despite being well into the season, DeAugustino sees the chance to get a reserve game as a great way to get a look at his entire roster in ways he may not get to during the other matches.

     “It’s an opportunity for those girls that haven’t gotten minutes that I think are deserving of getting some minutes and looks,” DeAugustino said, while noting that this gives these girls a chance not just to get more of a look, but also get some nerves out in adjusting to a college setting, “It gives some of those younger players who haven’t seen college minutes yet to say, ‘you played.’ It gets the nerves out.”

     Gilchrest saw this reserve game as a chance to simply get more experience under the team’s belt. 

     “It’s exciting to play another team and add a game to our roster and have our program continue to grow,” Gilchrest said.

     DeAugustino gave his last bit of praise towards his defense, and despite not standing out on the statsheet, players like goalkeeperAlexis Greenlief, and defenders Jocelyn Stiffler and Lindsey Miller, along with several others, have been playing “out of their mind” in their defensive third. 

     “The whole unit has been really great. It’s something that’s not gonna show up on a social media post or anything like that, but they do a great job,” DeAugustino said.