In its final game of the regular season at home, the ULM women’s soccer team slipped the lead once again and drew 1-1 against Old Dominion.
The Monarchs’ offense outplayed ULM in the last 10 minutes of the game. The Warhawks’ defense, under constant pressure, couldn’t maintain possession.
Center-back Lucia Lobato reflected on crunch time errors and where the team goes from there.
“I think it’s just moments of a lack in concentration or something. We just need to improve and be consistent till the final whistle,” Lobato said. “But it is something we are going to take care of in the tournament.”
ULM faced the Monarchs for the first time in program history. Both teams were determined to win their last match before the tournament to give themselves a morale boost.
The start of the first half was rough as both the Warhawks and the Monarchs made many fouls on each other; early tackles broke the flow of the game and got into the opponents’ heads.
ODU won a free kick in the 18th minute of the game, shooting the ball from outside the box to get an opener. But the ball didn’t make it far as it landed in the safe hands of ULM goalie Mickaela Leal.
The Monarchs made early substitutions to have an offensive-heavy impact on the game, substituting five players within 30 minutes.
ODU dominated the first half of the game, having six shots compared to the only shot from ULM. The pushes from each side proved fruitless as the half ended scoreless.
Both teams made several changes during the break. The Warhawks brought Alexa Castro Vivas in place of Mickaela Leal, Vanessa Praher for Janne Van Brummelen and Emelie Kobler for Eve Blakely. The substitutions gave players rest while others searched for a goal.
ULM’s adjustments worked out as midfielder Inge Konst got an icebreaker in the 49th minute.
Midfielder Mara Grutkamp crossed the ball from the corner to Konst, who drew first blood with a header.
The Monarchs made four additional substitutions, hoping to turn the game around.
ODU applied more pressure on ULM to gain possession of the ball, whereas the Warhawks tried to neutralize the offense by clearing the ball as much as they could.
The Monarchs found themselves through ULM’s defense in the 84th minute, getting the ball into the back of the net. However, the play from ULM’s defenders led ODU to be called offside, disallowing the goal.
The frequent attacks from ODU during the last minutes of the game gave them a goal. The Monarchs offense dribbled past the ULM defense and fired a shot that hit the post, rebounding to an ODU player for an open net goal. With a minute left on the clock, the Monarchs made an equalizer to draw against the host.
Before ULM faces No. 3 seed Georgia Southern in the quarter-finals, head coach Will Roberts talked about ULM’s improvements in this season.
“We have taken steps forward we think that we needed to. We are working hard trying to get this program moving in the right direction. We are seeing the benefits of it,” Roberts said. “We need to get another recruiting class in and continue to build every year to play better and better each season.”
