Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Graupmann held off 18 shots, helping the St. Thomas women’s soccer team maintain a tie with the University of Northern Iowa 0-0 in the Tommies’ first Division I game in any sport Tuesday evening on South Field.
The Panthers (1-1-1) took in 12 shots from the Tommies (1-0-1), with UNI first-year goalkeeper Caitlin Richards on net.
“We fought all the way to the very end,” coach Sheila McGill said. “That’s something that we as a team have always been focused on. We brought our energy and we brought our battle.”
McGill noted the game being “faster paced” and “more physical” at the Division I level, compared to Division III.
“It’s a faster team that’s coming at us,” McGill said. “At the same time, those weren’t necessarily our issues. It was sometimes problem solving the different formations.”
Having had three scrimmages before the first regular season game, the players felt that they knew each other well beforehand.
“We’ve had a lot of time to get to know each other and every single girl on the team,” senior defender Gaba Palazzo said. “I would trust them to have my back for every single game.”
To prepare for a jump up two divisions, McGill trained both physically and mentally.
“With a lot of new players on the team, it’s getting them into the mindset that these guys as seniors have already, and knowing when they step in, when they drop in and what that looks like within our formation,” McGill said.
Senior defender Alex Balfour agreed.
“We have a lot of new players on the field … and I think it was coming in and getting them in that Tommie mentality,” Balfaur said.
But the goal isn’t necessarily to win.
“Our goal is to play our game and compete,” McGill said. “That puts us in the place to win a game.”
The Tommies travel to Chicago State University for their first regular season road match Sunday at 3 p.m.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Olivia Paradise can be reached at olivia.paradise@stthomas.edu.