Lady Barons soccer ties D’Youville on senior day after thrilling overtime finish

VERONICA ECKART
STAFF WRITER

Photo by: Layna Corbett

This Saturday at home, the Lady Barons soccer team honored its senior players after a hard-fought match against D’Youville which ended in a double overtime tie.

The Lady Barons and the D’Youville Spartans proved to be evenly matched, and the game wrapped up still tied with neither team able to score even after double overtime. Franciscan outshot its opponents 19-3 despite leaving the scoreboard blank and held the tie with a strong performance from the defense.

The first half of the match was highly contested, with many attempts on goal from both teams. Due to recent rains, the field was slick and muddy, making it difficult to control the ball.

However, the Lady Barons persevered and had five shots on goal in the first half from senior midfielder Emily Wieszczek, senior midfielder Elizabeth Dawyot, and junior utility player Glorianne Trippe.

The second half also featured many attacks on goal, but the D’Youville Spartans responded offensively in turn. Neither team was able to score, so the game went into double overtime to determine the results, but it closed with a score of 0-0.

Head coach Bernardo Gonzalez proceeded to honor the senior team members. Among those honored was senior goalkeeper Sarah Luebking, who had three key saves during this match. A triple major in Theology, Catechetics and English from Colorado, Luebking currently holds the university record for saves with a grand total of 275 since her freshman year.  She has been a crucial part of Franciscan’s success with 74 saves and five shutouts this season.

Another senior honored was Dawyot, a nursing major and four-year member of the Lady Barons soccer team. She currently ranks seventh in Franciscan athletics history for career goals scored, and second in number of assists with 14.

Wieszczek, who scored the winning goal against Pitt-Greensburg in the AMCC quarter-finals last season, is a nursing major and three-year member of the team from New Jersey who was also honored after the match.

“The great thing about our seniors is that they each lead in a different necessary way,” said Gonzalez. “Sarah Luebking is an intense competitor that calls others on to have that same intensity. Elizabeth Dawyot has a great balance of making her teammates laugh while still being able to get them to focus and to take the steps necessary to succeed. And Emily Wieszczek is the perfect leader by example and does what it takes to make herself and her teammates better. They have done an amazing job of leading the team this year and will be greatly missed.”

This tie against D’Youville places the Lady Barons securely in the playoff competition, as they are currently ranked fifth out of the 10 teams in the AMCC women’s soccer league.