BEREA, Ohio (Sept. 15) – Thanks in large part to the efforts of sophomore Regan Mittendorf (Bluffton, Ohio / Bluffton) and freshman Julz Mohrbacher (Freedom, Pa. / Freedom), the Waynesburg women's soccer team looked poised to score an upset against Baldwin Wallace and log its biggest win in recent memory. Unfortunately, a late offensive flurry by the home team snatched victory away from the Orange and Black, as BW escaped with a 4-3 win.
 
Despite the disappointing ending, Friday night's game showcased definite improvement for the Yellow Jackets (2-3), who have lost at least the last seven meetings with BW (4-0-1). The three goals scored on Friday nearly match the four tallied over those previous seven contests.
 
The home team broke up the shutout at the 31:00 mark of the first half. Waynesburg responded to the challenge just 1:03 later when Mohrbacher fired in her team-leading sixth of the season to knot the score at 1-1. Senior Kate James (Silver Spring, Md. / St. John's College H.S.) assisted on the equalizer.
 
Just 7:23 later, the explosive rookie did it again, this time off a pass from Mittendorf to give Waynesburg the lead with 5:30 left to play before halftime. The Jackets were able to protect their 2-1 advantage as the two teams went into halftime.
 
Just over six minutes into the second period, Baldwin Wallace retied the game at 2-2. Waynesburg's quick strike offense showed up again late in the 52^nd minute when Mittendorf put her squad ahead 3-2.
 
For nearly 30 minutes, the Orange and Black had victory in sight as it maintained its one-goal edge with less than 10 minutes showing on the clock. Unfortunately, the home team had other ideas.
 
Baldwin Wallace got back on the board with exactly eight minutes remaining in the contest. Early in the 86^th minute, the home Yellow Jackets posted the eventual game winner.
 
Despite the disappointment of losing its lead so late in the night, Waynesburg didn't give up the fight and was able to produce the final two shots of the night, including one by Mohrbacher with just five second left to play. Unfortunately, both tries were off target.
 
Despite a sizeable 31-19 advantage in total shots by BW, Waynesburg nearly matched the opposition blow-for-blow when it came to shots on goal (13-11). The same can be said of corner kicks, which saw the home team attempt nine to the Jackets' seven.
 
Sophomore Mya Riggle (Ford City, Pa. / Armstrong) had a busy night in net, as she piled up nine saves during her 90 minutes in goal.
 
Waynesburg returns to the pitch on Wednesday, Sept. 20, when it opens Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on the road at Franciscan. Kickoff against the 2022 PAC runners up is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.