With the lingering threat of COVID added to the longstanding threat of weather possibly playing havoc with games later in the season, the Columbus East girls soccer team decided to move senior night up to Thursday.
The Olympians made the big night for their three seniors a winning one. They scored a goal in each half to post a 2-0 victory against Class A No. 6 Providence.
“I’m very proud of the team making sure to come out and still play even on an emotional night and still win,” senior forward Kat Soedel said. “With all the senior stuff, everyone was very emotional.”
As a result, East (3-3) may have started a little slow. Despite a heavy possession advantage, the Olympians didn’t get on the board until the 35th minute, when Norah Dwenger put in a cross from Hallie Randle.
the game had been moved up from a normal 7 p.m. start because the Pioneers did not have enough JV players, and the teams just played a JV half after the 5:30 p.m. varsity contest.
“It’s definitely difficult,” senior Gabi Schuetz said. “We’re used to playing at 7, and we’re used to having the time at the field while the JV is playing to prepare, and I think not having that time tonight kind of threw us off a little bit. But it was a cool day in general, so that worked out well for us.”
Dwenger and Randle switched roles in the Olympians’ second goal of the night. Randle finished a cross from Dwenger in the 48th minute for a 2-0 advantage.
“It took a little bit for us to lock in mentally, but I think once we did, we controlled possession and controlled the whole game,” senior Grace Wiltsey said. “I’m just super thankful to be able to share this with my teammates and to be able to get the win because it means a lot to keep building for the rest of the season.”
East finished with a 25-9 shot advantage. The Olympians put nine shots on goal to four for Providence.
Anna Liimatta recorded four saves in the shutout.
“As a defender, it means a lot to get a shutout,” Schuetz said. “It means we can be solid in any game, no matter how high the emotions are or wherever the focus may lie. It means a lot to do that tonight.”
East coach Ilya Schwartzman agreed.
“It’s great to get a win against a quality opponent,” Schwartzman said. “It’s a tough night to play because of so much emotion with the senior night, but the girls put it in the positive direction and really overcame a lot of emotions and played well.”
