Applying Pressure in Pink: Gonzaga Women's Soccer Pushes Pace vs. LMU For Third Straight Shutout
When Gonzaga women’s soccer (5-7, 3-1) skidded to its sixth straight defeat in the middle of September, there was reasonable external concern about what the season would entail for the Zags.
But as head coach Katie Benz put it to ESPN+ play-by-play broadcaster Greg Talbott before the team’s game against Loyola Marymount, the internal feeling never wavered.
“The story we’ve just been kind of reiterating is just mentality. Anything can happen in the game of soccer, which we’ve seen in some of our results. And so just being confident in who we have been and where we have been building even through tough losses,” she said.
“We truly were improving each game in different little ways here and there, and so continuing to build off of that. And the thing that I keep saying is we only worry about our little bubble of Gonzaga women’s soccer, and every step we take is in the right direction.”
Since that last-minute loss to Saint Mary’s, the Bulldogs have won three games in a row – all by way of shutouts. The most recent victory was the 3-0 win over LMU in the program’s annual Pink Game for cancer awareness, where the Zags created 21 shots, with an astounding 16 of them being on goal. It has been a stark contrast from the losing streak, where the offense was heavily stifled as the team’s two best players – Katelyn Rigg and Amelia Severn – were taken out of games almost entirely.
Fast forward two weeks, and Severn has recorded a goal and an assist in three straight matches. Rigg is once again getting more opportunities on fast breaks and in the attacking third. Both players now have five goals on the season. Teams were effectively game planning for the Zags’ dangerous duo, and now GU has responded with belief in their identity.
“Confidence in themselves and what they are capable of as individuals,” Benz said. “But then, as a team just really connecting, part of that is speed to play…and our team has been doing that very consistently. Our speed to play has really picked up and definitely turned the corner for us.”
Benz says they have made an intention to add more support to their midfielders as well as the surrounding areas in order to maximize scoring opportunities. In addition to quick transitions, a staple of the Gonzaga offense, the team wants as many tools as possible in its toolbox to beat teams in a variety of ways.
But for Rigg, the most impactful change has been the players buying in more to each other.
“I don’t think a lot has changed. It’s been all part of the process,” she said after the win to Talbott and Sarah Cox. “I think we started the season in one spot, and I think we had some results that were really hard and forced us to look internally a lot and make some changes, but we’re still the same team. Our identity is still exactly the same.”
“So I think that we’ve been forced to bet on our ourselves and believe in ourselves, and now that we’re hitting our stride, it feels really good.”
The theme of the match was teasers before the goals, as Gonzaga knocked on the Lions’ door repeatedly, but couldn’t initially open it without a similar play occurring prior. In the 18th minute, Samantha Snorsky pushed a through ball to Rigg on a fast break as she outraced the LMU backline. Lions’ keeper JJ Hoover came out of the net, and instead of firing a shot, Rigg attempted to dribble past her but was tripped up and earned a penalty kick.
But Rigg’s PK was knocked away by Hoover, as the LMU keeper made a great play scooting to her right, reading Rigg’s initial runup. The Zags would then get redemption in the 27th minute as Severn was fouled in the hip by the Lions’ Natalie Oca just inside the box, earning another penalty shot. This time, Severn hesitated before her kick, leading Hoover to cheat to her left and watch the ball fly into the net in the other direction.
Gonzaga turned defense to offense quickly in the 31st minute, as Severn pushed the effort the other way to an open Todd on the right side of the box. Todd then served it up to Rigg, who came flying in with a diving header that banged off the left post, a near-incredible score. A couple of minutes later, Severn took the ball down the right endline and passed it ahead to Rigg. Rigg was textbook in her attack, gathering the ball and putting great touch on it before a LMU defender could completely close in, and then dropping it in just over a leaping Hoover.
In the second half, Rigg raced up the left side past the Loyola Marymount defense before cross-firing to Todd, who was positioned in front of the net at 55'. On the next sequence, Rigg retrieved a pass and flipped it up again from a similar spot with Todd angling her right leg to get a specific touch on the ball, nudging it just past Hoover. Multiple Lions held up their right arms signaling for an offside call, but the play was upheld after review – much to the disbelief of the LMU coaching staff – as there were two other defenders in close proximity to Todd.
Defensively, another big improvement for the Zags has been the communication on the backend. Keeper Michaela McCollum got her third consecutive clean sheet as she racked up four saves, her highest mark in nearly a month. During the team’s losing streak, multiple breakdowns between the defenders and McCollum led to goals allowed in critical moments for Gonzaga. But the defense versus LMU was perfectly executed throughout the match.
The Lions weren’t completely silenced, as they got 12 shots off, with five being on target. But the Bulldogs’ backline kept pace in transition and deterred the ball the other way repeatedly. Just after halftime, LMU pushed the ball downfield, and McCollum came out of the net with her teammate, Taylor Gentry, racing to the ball with the Lions’ Callan Harrington. It led to a three-way collision, but also running back on the play was Makayla Werner, who became the de facto keeper on the play. LMU’s Taylor Person came flying in, but her shot at the net took a high ricochet after firing off of Werner’s feet and out of play.
The WCC is once again shaping up to be extremely close, and the continued steps forward both offensively and on the defensive end for Gonzaga will be imperative down the stretch. The Zags are currently third in the conference with nine points, with a matchup at first-place Pepperdine next on Saturday, October 11. It will be a big measuring stick for Riggs and a Bulldogs team that is playing its best ball.
“It’ll be a really good game, but we’re looking forward to it and we’re up to it.”
