Soccer: For a week, Catawba women’s team ‘was the best in the country’

Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 4, 2023

By Dave Shaw

By David Shaw

For the Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — First place was fun while it lasted.

So was basking in the glow of a No. 1 national ranking, but that was three matches and two losses ago for the Catawba women’s soccer team. As they turn their attention to the SAC tournament and Division II playoffs, the Lady Indians are a bit shaken but certainly prepared for whatever awaits.

“Make sure you put this in the article,” ninth-year coach Nick Brown said late Wednesday night, moments after short-handed Catawba (15-2, 10-1 SAC) fell 2-1 to unbeaten Lenoir-Rhyne and finished a noble second in the conference standings. “For one week, this team was the best in the country. No other Catawba team can say that. It didn’t last, but it was incredible.”

It was — and it belongs to history now. The fourth-ranked Indians opened the season with 14 consecutive victories — including nine shutouts — and justified their ascent to the NCAA’s top ranking on Oct. 24. Then came a sluggish non-league loss at Georgia College and a toilsome win against SAC bottom-feeder Emory & Henry, a triumph that cost them leading scorer Sydney Jimmo and her conference-best 17 goals. Jimmo suffered a sprained left ankle, missed the L-R match and was listed as day-to-day for Saturday’s 5 p.m. conference tournament quarterfinal with seventh-seeded Limestone.

“Next player up,” noted Brown, the revered, ever-calculating voice barking strategy and encouragement from the sideline. “We’ve got a pretty deep team, probably the deepest it’s been since I’ve been here. Obviously, when you don’t have a player of Sydney’s caliber, it hurts. But this is what we’ve been all year. We haven’t played many games at full strength — maybe one or two, if that. We’ve learned how to figure things out.”

Next up was Madison Henry, a grad student/transfer from UNC-Wilmington best remembered for netting more than 100 career goals at South Rowan High. On Wednesday, she made a seamless transition to center midfield, the position Jimmo has dominated the way a rooster rules the barnyard.

“It’s definitely hard to fill Sydney Jimmo’s shoes,” Henry acknowledged following the bone-chilling disappointment at Frock Field. “She’s such an important part of all this. But that’s the thing about this team — we’re all willing to jump in and help out. (Brown) knows he can change our spots in a minute because we’re all adaptable.”

The match itself brimmed with small pleasures from both sides — including a stunning jump start by the 10th-ranked, conference champion Bears (13-0-3, 11-0). They opened the scoring at 2:57 when Swedish sophomore Elin Hansson (14 goals, 8 assists) chipped a high, forceful shot from the left porch that eluded Catawba keeper Ashley Hughes. Two minutes and 12 seconds later, Hansson attacked and scored again from the left side, giving L-R a 2-0 edge in the first 5:09. “It was a wake-up call,” said Henry. “But if they can score two goals in five minutes, so can we.”

Winning coach Dean Ward sensed it might turn into a high-scoring affair.

“I actually thought there would be more goals,” he said after Lenoir-Rhyne won its ninth regular-season title and 23rd straight conference match. “So did Elin. She scores goals, and everybody sees that. But it’s her overall play — she’s mature, she’s intelligent. She does so much for us. I thought she might get another one.”

Instead, Catawba answered with a had-to-have-it goal at 25:05 of the first half. It came on a low pump shot by senior forward Hannah Dunn, following a long free kick into the box by junior defender Lillie Rusher, the former Salisbury High freewheeler. “I don’t know if Hannah ever feels pressure,” said Brown. “She’s every coach’s dream.”

“It put a little fire in us,” said McKenzee Johnson, Catawba’s staunch, right-side defender. “The game was essentially 1-0 at that point. We were right there with a lot of game left. We felt it was going to come.”

Added teammate Kylie Morin: “Just because we were down, it didn’t mean we were out.”

Exactly. In the second half Catawba put all of its beef on the grill, advancing and penetrating, only to be foiled by a Bears defense that has posted 10 shutouts and allowed only seven goals all season. Henry had a golden opportunity in the 60th minute, when her low screamer from close range was deflected by lunging L-R keeper S.A. Phillips. The guests nearly regained a two-goal advantage midway through the half after Catawba was shown back-to-back yellow cards for rough play. The second, a sideline infraction against Brown, led to a penalty kick for junior Evan O’Leary. She delivered a hissing blast labeled for the lower left corner that was slapped aside by Hughes — who dove for the ball like she was sliding headfirst into second base. “Great stop,” said Johnson.

A monumental save, all agreed. But in the end, it failed to insulate the Indians from a careless start that left them riding shotgun in the conference race. After retreating to lick their wounds, they’ll realize that falling on your face is one way of moving forward.

“Just a small bump in a long journey,” said Henry. “This team still has a way to go.”

“This team,” Dunn added with stern conviction, “is more than ready. We’ve done everything we can to be in this position. Yes, we fell short, but that just fuels the fire. We’re hungrier than ever and ready to go.”

Brown, with 97 career wins to his credit, takes it a step further.

“These girls are super-hungry,” he insisted. “They’re very driven, very motivated. I’ve been telling them since the summer, they’re a special group. I still think they’re going to do something really special. I know it. We’ve come too far, we’ve scored too many goals to stop now.”

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