In last weekend’s match the Pipers lost 3-2 in a game that went down to the wire. With under a minute left in the game, the Pipers attempted to set up a corner kick to tie the game. The Macalester Scots blocked their attempt and sealed the game, bringing the Pipers record down to 2-4-1.

Heading into the game women’s soccer head coach Ted Zingman said he was content with his team’s play at the start of the season.

“I’ve been happy with how the girls have been progressing,” he said. “Their play gets better each game.”

In their first seven games to start the season, six were on the road, and the first five non-conference games were against a competitive bunch. Zingman said that was exactly what they wanted. The team felt they were ready to take it to the next level and they wanted to challenge themselves by playing against more competitive teams.

The Pipers are now 0-2 in conference play but remained competitive in both games as they were both decided by a one-goal margin. They are headed toward the stretch of the season where they will play familiar opponents in the MIAC. This upcoming week the Pipers will finally host conference games. Zingman is looking forward to it as their goal is to be at the top of the conference.

“That’s the goal: prove that we are one of the top teams in our conference,” he said.

The Pipers have faced adversity early on in the season.

“We’ve unfortunately been bitten by the injury bug,” Zingman said.

Despite the injuries, first-year players have stepped up and played well.

Zingman said it was no surprise to see the first-years step up the way they have. He said when they joined the team he knew they’d be good additions; he just didn’t know they would have gotten as much experience as they have now.

“They’re very good players. They got so much experience right away…trial by fire,” he said.

Before the Pipers game against Macalester, Zingman said he was looking for two things from his team: “maintain composure and move the ball forward.”

He wanted his team to stay disciplined and play their own game and not get caught up with Macalester’s game plan.

“We’re good enough to play our brand of soccer,” he said.

In the first half of the game, the Pipers did just that. They were able to maintain control of the ball, stayed disciplined by staying true to their style of soccer and ultimately dictated the games’ tempo. The Pipers took a 2-0 lead early in the game.

The defense made plays and essentially put up a wall when the Scots tried to break through. Pipers’ goalkeeper junior Erin Urbanowicz recorded three crucial saves in the final minutes of the first half. She jumped through the air to deflect the ball with her left arm, lunged right to make a diving catch to create the save and jumped while deflecting the ball with both arms, but in mid-air collided with a Scot. She was shaken up but she returned to action to finish the game.

In the second half, the crowd at Macalester Stadium was rowdy and created momentum for the Scots. The Scots opened up the second half with two goals to tie the game. The momentum shifted as they began to take control of the game, and with under ten minutes remaining in the game, the Scouts scored the go-ahead goal: they led 3-2.

The Pipers set up a corner kick with under a minute remaining to attempt to tie the game. A flashback to last year’s game, when they were home at Pat Paterson Fields against the Scots. They led the game 2-0; then the Scouts took a 3-2 lead. The Pipers then set up a corner kick with 0:19 remaining and scored a goal as time expired to force extra time.

This time around the Pipers came close; they kicked the ball in play with 0:55 seconds remaining. They kicked the ball toward the net and the Scots goalkeeper deflected it back to the Pipers after the bounce. They gave it one more attempt, but the ball sailed over the goalpost with 0:16 seconds left. The Scots goalkeeper punted the ball and that sealed the game 3-2.

For the Pipers, sophomore Eden Behrens led the team with a goal and an assist, followed by senior Brienne Garside with one goal, and first-year Mallory Wirth with one assist.

Their next game will be at Pat Paterson Fields today, Sept. 24, against UW-Stout. Fans can expect the same style of play, according to Zingman, from their game at Macalester.

“Expect a physical and hard fought game,” he said.