The soccer team closed out its season on Saturday night with a 2-0 loss to the No. 8 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The defeat resulted in the Canes’ season ending with a 5-12-0 overall record and 2-8-0 in ACC play.
“There was a lot of emotion out here today. Anybody knows it on senior day, you have a lot going through your head,” Head Coach Mary-Frances Monroe said to HurricaneSports.com after the game. “You want to play well, you want to compete. And to have one of the top teams in the country come in for senior day, it definitely puts some pressure on you, but the team was ready and prepared and excited to get on the field.”
The team played well despite missing junior forward Gracie Lachowecki, who is ranked third in the ACC in goals and points. Lachowecki clearly emerged this season as Miami’s most valuable offensive weapon. She accounted for half of the team’s offense this season, having scored 12 of the team’s 24 overall goals.
As for the rest of the team, senior forward Amy Schmidt ended the season with four goals, redshirt senior midfielder Erin McGovern scored three and sophomore midfielder Grace Rapp scored two. The following seniors suited up for the Canes for the final time on Saturday night: McGovern, Schmidt, forward Ava Ambrose, defender Natalie Moik and forward Jasmine Paterson.
“I said to them at the end of the game, it’s been an absolute pleasure coaching them and an absolute pleasure watching them grow,” Monroe said to HurricaneSports.com. “I think that the last three seasons that I’ve had them, I can honestly say every single one of them has gotten better and improved as a soccer player, improved as a person and improved at being a leader. So I’m really proud of them and I’m going to miss them.”
The Canes still have much to work on, namely their goal-shot ratio and shooting percentage. They also need to be more aggressive offensively early in the game, as 16 of Miami’s 24 goals and 144 of the team’s 225 shot attempts came in either the second half or overtime periods.
However, the Canes still posted better numbers this season in almost every statistical category compared to last year’s group. Star forward Lachowecki is returning for next season as well as redshirt freshman goalie Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who saved over half of the shots attempted on her this season.
“A lot of people have watched a lot of our games, especially being on ESPN3. We have played great soccer,” Monroe said. “I’m just really proud of them.”