Box Score Bryn Mawr, Pa. – A pair of second half goals from Veronica Roux and Madeline Mark gave the Bryn Mawr soccer team their first win of 2014 earlier Saturday afternoon. After weathering an early storm by the Pride of Widener, Roux tallied the eventual game-winner just 11 minutes into the second half, while Mark added a late insurance goal to give the Owls their 2-0 victory and move them to 1-1 early into the fall season.
Widener (0-2) gave Bryn Mawr all they could handle in the first 15 minutes of play, having two good looks at goal go wide and earning two corner kicks as well. However, the Bryn Mawr (1-1) defense stood tall, clearing away each attack thrown their direction. The Owls began to carry more of the possession as the first half went on under a sweltering August sky. Midway through the period, Madeline Mark and Marcela Dorfsman-Hopkins forced Pride goalkeeper Olivia Pfautz into two of her four saves. Then, a minute later, Owls netminder Aviva Kosansky answered that effort with a great save of her own to preserve the deadlock all the way into halftime.
The Owls continued to force Widener deeper into their own end as the second half opened, and the breakthrough finally came at the 55:59 mark of the game. Bryn Mawr carried play through the midfield and along the right side, with the ball finding the feet of Allegra Levy. The junior midfielder saw a chance to swing in a cross and lofted a perfectly weighted ball into the penalty box where junior Veronica Roux awaited. Positioning herself perfectly to box out the defender, Roux leapt into the air and sent a header past Pfautz and into the net to give the Yellow and White their first lead of the season.
Widener poured it on as time ran down, trying their best to break through the Owls' stingy defense, but it was to no avail. The best chance came with eight minutes left, when Widener's Lauren Wilson collected a loose ball at the top of the box and cut past her defender. In alone on goal, Wilson blasted a hard shot, but Kosansky had her angle cut down perfectly to absorb the shot and preserve the 1-0 lead.
Bryn Mawr closed out the game with a dramatic insurance goal with just a minute left to play. Madeline Mark found the ball at her feet and saw an opportunity to rocket a shot on goal from around 30 yards out. It was arguably one of the best shots in the history of Applebee Field, as the ball darted from Mark's foot, just past the leap of Pfautz and directly inside the bottom corner on the far side to cap off the 2-0 shutout with authority.
With the win, the Owls even their record back up to 1-1 on the season. They'll get some much needed rest this week after playing back-to-back games before going on the road on Saturday, September 6th to take on Goucher. The Gophers started their 2014 season off with a successful tournament of their own this weekend, holding William Paterson to a scoreless draw before knocking off Eastern Mennonite in 2-0 fashion. Gametime in Towson, Maryland is set for 1:00 PM. As always, you can get all your Owls updates right here at athletics.brynmawr.edu.
