Gonzaga Women’s Soccer Lights Up Flames at Home in 3-0 Victory
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Amelia Severn prepares to take a shot against the UIC Flames on Aug. 28 at Luger Field. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram [/caption]
For the second straight game, Gonzaga women’s soccer controlled the ball throughout. This time against the UIC Flames, the Zags continued to live in their opponent’s territory and push the ball offensively. It resulted in a 3-0 shutout victory at Luger Field, where Katelyn Rigg and Amelia Severn once again racked up goals.
The Bulldogs were on the attack from kickoff, creating three advantageous scoring opportunities within the first 10 minutes. In the fifth minute, Rigg broke free on the right side and took a shot against UIC keeper Sara Sanabria. The ball ricocheted off of Sanabria and into the vicinity of Shila Rasoul, but not close enough for her to reach and hit it squarely. It was a theme for Gonzaga, who routinely set up shots in close proximity to the post.
Three minutes later, the Zags would score their first goal, courtesy of Severn and Samantha Snorsky. Snorsky took the ball down the right sideline and kept it in bounds before kicking it into the center of the pitch. The pass dropped in front of Severn, who twisted before turning and firing — not fully setting up before shooting. The shot deflected off a nearby player, firing high into the air and into the back left corner of the net, out of the reach of Sanabria.
As the Zags become more familiar with each other, the players are learning their teammates’ playstyles and how to work more cohesively as a unit. Severn discussed how the entire play exemplified this and how it unfolded.
“Just had it come out to me, turned onto my left foot, and I knew I had to put it on frame, got a little lucky but…went right over the goalkeeper’s arms,” she said to ESPN+ play-by-play broadcaster Jon Billings. “… {Snorsky], I know to just give her space and go one v one down the endline.”
In the 37th minute, junior Emily Todd got tangled up with Flames defender Kaysey Castro as Todd took the ball upfield and into the box. Castro attempted to knock the ball away from between Todd’s legs, but only hit her foot. Initially, the foul was not called, but the Zags asked for a video review and were awarded a penalty kick after the referees looked at replays of the play. Rigg took the shot, but it was blocked as Sanabria jumped to her right and blocked the penalty kick by pushing it up with her hands as she fell to the ground. It was one of the four first-half saves by Sanabria.
But in the second half, UIC swapped goalies, opting for fellow grad student Francesca Faraci for the final 45 minutes — a tactic they’ve used in most of their games this season. Faraci was quickly greeted with a goal as Makayla Werner kicked the ball through to Annie Boyden, who dropped it off to Rigg. Rigg had a clear path ahead and took her time, waiting for Faraci to come up before firing it over her head as the goalie came to her knees. The second Flames’ keeper of the match tallied three saves in her 45 minutes of work.
Michaela McCollum wasn’t really tested in this one, logging two saves in her 90 minutes played. Midway through the first half, a through-ball to the Flames’ Riley Collett produced a true one-on-one situation with her and McCollum. But she kicked it straight to the Bulldogs’ keeper, who easily collected it. A set piece at the 68th minute put the ball near the Gonzaga net, where UIC took a couple of cracks at McCollum, but they couldn’t convert.
The third Zags goal was scored by senior Kylie Jones, her first of the season. It was Snorsky once again with an assist from the sideline, as she dished it up perfectly to Jones, who was propped in the box and knocked in a textbook header.
It was another match where Bulldogs head coach Katie Benz was able to get her freshmen and more inexperienced players in the game. Gonzaga’s next opponent will be Washington, a future conference preview before the Zags head to the PAC-12 next season. Severn is a Shoreline, Washington, native and says she is familiar with many of the Huskies her team will face on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 1 PM PT.
“I’m really excited. I’ve had this match bookmarked for a long time,” she said. “I’ve played with a lot of them or against them growing up in summer league, almost know the entire team, so it’s gonna be super fun and I can’t wait to play them.”
