The lights came on and the foes steeled themselves for what was coming. To their lefts and rights opponents and allies stood waiting for the first attack and first defense. At the end of the night there would be losers, a clear winner and a little more clarification of where they stood in the bigger picture. The timekeepers were ready, as were the officials that were there to maintain some semblance of order. Before them, spectators watched in anticipation. They had returned to Durham, it was about to begin.
No, it was not the nationally televised Republican presidential candidate debate that captured most of the attention on Wednesday night. Instead, this battle occurred just down the street on Bremner Field, as the UNH Wildcats women's soccer team opened the home season by defeating the Crusaders of Holy Cross 5-0.
Junior forwards Michelle Sheehan and Caitlin Whelan each tallied two goals and an assist to lead the Wildcats to victory. Senior Adriana Gonzalez-Medina added the fifth and final goal of the game. It was Sheehan's third and fourth of the season and Whelan's first two.
The UNH defense was anchored by sophomore goalkeeper Allie Yost, who turned away all four shots Holy Cross managed on the New Hampshire goal. It was the Wildcats' second shutout of the season, and second in a row.
The Wildcats recorded a 27-11 shot advantage to advance their record to 2-1-0 on the season.
"Its an important win," said head coach Michael Jackson after the game, "every win is important. It's still young in the season and we have a lot of new players, so I think we learned a lot tonight and we have to be better for the next one."
The Wildcats were able to send 22 different players to the field, including five of the teams six freshmen. Two of those freshmen, Amy Avitabile and Marika Posehn started for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats did indeed continue their winning ways in the rain on Sunday defeating Iona College 3-1 in an afternoon match on Lewis Field. Whelan continued her strong start to the season by netting another pair of goals to tie her for the team lead with Sheehan. Senior co-captain Caitlyn Serafine recorded her first goal of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Nikki Golding allowed a goal in the 57th minute of the game to end UNH's opponent scoreless streak at 305 minutes. It was the second goal allowed by UNH goalkeeping. Golding stopped the only other shot by Iona and notched her second win of the season.
UNH is now 3-1-0 on the season. The team did not have three wins until September 24 in 2006.
UNH's strong start to the season has not gone unrecognized by the conference, as Sheehan and Whelan were America East Offensive Players of the Week in consecutive weeks. Both players lead the conference in points (9) and goals (4). The awards marked the first time since 2002 that two Wildcats were named players of the week in successive weeks.
The stars wouldn't take all the credit to their early season success however.
"I just think we're playing as a team," said Sheehan. "Things are connecting well right now. In the past, we've had trouble finishing but now things are just coming together. This is the strongest team I've been on in my three years
UNH looks to continue their strong play at home on September 11, at 4 pm against the Brown University Bears on Bremner field.
For his part, Jackson is confident that the 'Cats can continue their strong play.
"Whether we play on Bremner or whether we play on grass its always good to be home," he said, "always, always, always."
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