GREAT FALLS, Mont. – In their first game of the season, the University of Providence women's soccer team nearly completed a comeback from a three-goal deficit against Carroll College. The Argos (0-1) came up just short, falling 3-2.
After a scoreless first half, the Fighting Saints (1-2) got on the board in the 62
nd minute, when Katie Martin found the back of the net off the assist from Zoie Koci. The Saints stayed aggressive, adding two more goals in the next five minutes to take a 3-0 lead.
But the Argos weren't going to roll over. Danielle Chang scored for the Argos in the 71
st minute off the assist from Kylee Manning to cut the lead to two. Marti Ludwick also found the back of the net in the 88
th minute, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
"Fighting back like that, that's a huge step in the right direction for us," head coach Heather Blandford said. "It was important for us to put the ball in the back of the net, and for us to go down 3-0 and still be able to fight back and be able to score some goals is a huge testament to our attitude and our mindset."
Jenna Evertz started as keeper for the Argos, recording a total of 10 saves. Offensively, the Argos attempted nine shots, four of which were on target. Ludwick led the team with three shot attempts, followed by Chang and Kylee Manning with two.
"We worked hard these past couple of weeks to make sure we could attack and score goals," Blandford said. "The fact that we scored twice in one game is fantastic is for our confidence for what we're looking to do at the end of the season. There are certainly things for us to work on and build on, but for our first outing, I felt like we're on the right track."
The Argos will have only a few days to recover, as the team travels to Billings this weekend for a doubleheader against Rocky Mountain College and Jamestown. The Argos will kick off against the Battlin' Bears (2-0) on Friday at 12:00 p.m. MTN and against the Jimmies (3-0) on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. MTN.
"We just need to be a little more consistent start to finish and have a little bit more confidence in ourselves and our ability," Blandford said. "We're seeing moments but just need to get a little bit better at it as a whole. We have another opportunity to do that this weekend and I'm hoping this loss motivates us moving forward."