By John Ostapowicz
The Youngstown State University women’s soccer team notched another win during its senior day at Farmers National Bank Field in the Covelli Sports Complex. The Penguins defeated the fifth-seeded Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2-0 on Oct. 22, moving the team into the sixth seed.
The women’s soccer team has 10 graduating seniors who were a part of the program when head coach Brian Shrum and assistant coach Josh Green joined the team.
“They came here to make extraordinary leaps and bounds of what we wanted this program to look like and they have done that, it was just a great afternoon to be with them,” Shrum said.
The offense got going early in the first half from a perfectly placed header in the top-left corner of the net by senior Regan LaVigna with an assist from seniors Haley Curtis and Abriana Rondin. With the goal, LaVigna continues to lead the team points.
Freshman Taylor Berry added another goal off a ricocheted shot attempt by Rondin aiding in the Penguins scoring efforts. The goal marked Berry’s second of the season.
Berry’s stand-out freshman year continues as switching from high-school level to collegiate soccer is not an easy feat, but Berry seamlessly made the transition.
“Coming in as a freshman, it’s hard, but these girls push you to be the best and that’s all I can ask for and I’ve grown in ways I didn’t think I could,” Berry said.
Although the Jaguars outshot the Penguins 16-10, junior Brooklynn Kirkpatrick stood tall in the net, etching yet another notch in her season shutout record putting the total to seven.
Kirkpatrick’s efforts earned her the Nike Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, Oct. 24.
The accolades for the team continued as graduate student Jordan Evans and junior Justine Appolonia were named to the Horizon League Women’s Soccer Honorable Mention All-Academic Team, Oct. 25.
The victory marks the most conference wins in program history, surpassing three which was set in 2012 and 2014.
The women’s soccer team looked to squeeze into the sixth playoff spot in the Horizon League as the Penguins closed out the regular season by traveling to Moon Township, Pennsylvania to take on Robert Morris University on Oct. 26. For more information check out ysusports.com
With the end of the season, the Horizon League Playoffs start Oct. 30. To watch games from all Horizon League opponents check out ESPN+ for more coverage.