The UW-Eau Claire women’s soccer team struggled in their first game of the week on Thursday, Sept. 14, falling to Wartburg College 2-1. However, the Blugolds found their way back and conquered in their game on Sunday, Sept. 17, taking the title against Concordia Moorhead in a 2-0 shutdown.

The Blugolds walked into a tough match against Wartburg college on Thursday.  Although the game was off to a good start with an early 1-0 lead, that was the only goal of the day for the Eau Claire. The Knights capitalized on the Blugolds’ limited offensive strike and ended up with a  2-1 victory.

The Knights gained a quick foul inside the box to start the game – presenting a penalty kick to Emily Sullivan, one of Eau Claire’s sophomore midfielders.

Sullivan managed to get the ball into the right hand corner of the net against Wartburg’s goalkeeper for the Blugolds’ first and only point of the game.

As the team headed into the second half of the game, however, injuries forced Eau Claire players to sit on the sideline. The Blugolds then gave up goals to Wartburg’s Allyssa Christopher, a senior forward/defender and Morgan Neuendorf, a senior midfielder/forward, failing to catch up.

Head coach Sean Yengo said he felt content with the gameplan going into the first half, but saw his team fall off at the end of the match.

“We played an amazing first half because we were executing the gameplan,” Yengo said. “Ultimately, we just couldn’t convert that momentum to the second half.”

Eau Claire’s efforts on Sunday against Concordia-Moorhead proved to be more successful. The Blugolds outscored Concordia-Moorhead 2-0.

Monica Zoellner, the junior midfielder, stole the show for Eau Claire as she scored two goals in the game. Jordyn Gunderson, a first-year midfielder, assisted Zoellner on her second goal and gained her first collegiate point against the Cobbers.

“The first goal was off of a punt from my keeper and it went right over the top of the other team’s defense,” Zoellner said. “And then [for the second goal] I got a pass from Gunderson and turned it to the outside to score. The ball ricocheted off of a defender’s leg into the upper right corner of the net. So, that was really cool.”

Anna Sveiven, a first-year goalie, played the first half of the game and earned her first win as a freshman goalkeeper. Meanwhile, Sammie Lefaive, a senior goalie, maintained the shutout in the second half.

“This win was exactly what we needed to start our streak and continue to win,” Zoellner said. “I’m glad that it finally happened.”

The Blugolds will go head to head against St. Olaf at their home field on Wednesday.