First loss doesn’t slow women’s soccer team

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ALFRED DAVIS / CLARION

Madison College freshman midfielder Mary Raemisch, right, takes the ball away from an opponent during a recent women’s soccer game.

Tomaz Farina Escosteguy, Staff Writer

The Madison College women’s soccer team has bounced back from its first loss of the season with three straight victories, proving that the surprising loss did not shake them at all as they improved to 10-1 overall.

Now ranked No. 9 nationally, the WolfPack won on the road against Elgin Community College, 5-0, on Sept. 26. It was a solid performance, with Madison pressuring and putting up 27 total shots against only two by Elgin.

The first and second goals were scored by Britt Schumann, with the first being assisted by Mary Raemisch and the second by Peyton Trapino. Trapino then assisted Esther Noriega for the third goal of the game to close the first half and scored the fourth one, with an assist from Schumann.

To end the game, freshman defender Kristina Jensen came out of defense, and with Noriega’s assist, scored the last one, sealing a solid 5-0 win.

The next match was against conference foe Harper College on Sept. 28. Once again, early game pressure rewarded the girls with two goals. Schumann found the back of the net around the 6-minute mark with a pass from Trapino. A minute later, Trapino scored off an assist by Raemisch.

The story repeated itself again in the second half, with Raemisch dropping another dime to Trapino in the second half, making it 3-0.

But the game was not as clean as the final score, with Harper College shooting 13 times, and testing keeper Kelly Kubicek on seven of those attempts. She responded, maintaining a shutout for the eighth time this season, tying the school’s record.

The good news did not stop there. Kubicek had her effort and consistency rewarded by NJCAA Region 4, being nominated goalkeeper of the week (on Week 5). Kubicek is second in the region on the goals-against ranking, with only six goals allowed. 

Sadly, the WolfPack allowed one goal on their last away game against DuPage on Oct. 3, so Kubicek’s pursuit of the school’s record for most shutouts was put on hold. Happily, it was a 5-1 win.

Of the 10 shots on goal by Madison College, five found the net. The WolfPack started strong, with an early 7-minute goal by Raemisch and a 22nd-minute score by Trapino. Freshman midfielder Meghan Petroski had the assist for both. The game would go to halftime with a 2-1 WolfPack lead.

On the second half, Madison College came back even stronger: with nine shots (four on goal), the team scored three times. Noriega scored one, with an assist from our Trapino just after 4 minutes from the game’s restart. Trapino is now the NJCAA Region 4’s assist leader with 22. She would also score two more goals in the game.

Madison College’s final two games will be at home, against Joliet Junior College on Oct. 10 and against Triton College on Oct. 12.