BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- On a cold and soggy night, the Roadrunner women's soccer team concluded its regular season play in an exciting 90 minutes of Western Athletic Conference action. The 'Runners put up a great show but ultimately fell in a 1-0 loss to Grand Canyon Saturday night at the Main Soccer Field.

Bakersfield opened the game with multiple chances including a corner kick just three minutes into the match. In what would seem like the motif of the evening, the 'Runners were unable to convert on the opportunity. The first half was a seesaw of play with both Grand Canyon and Bakersfield having good chances to convert, but the Antelopes would be the only team to do so.

GCU (8-9-1, 7-3 WAC) put away its lone goal of the evening in the 43rd minute. Milla Benedetti dribbled past the defense and converted from 10 yards out for her seventh goal of the season and a 1-0 Grand Canyon lead.

The 'Runners pressured early and often in both halves, creating opportunities with five corners in the first half and eight corners in the second. The 'Runners outshot the 'Lopes 11-7 on the match, but Grand Canyon had the only shot that went into the net. Bakersfield's best opportunity seemed to come in the middle of the second half when Taylor Wheeler (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., La Habra HS) met a cross at the back post, but she was unable to get a foot on the ball. Hedda Regefalk (So., Stockholm, Sweden, Blackesberg Gymnasium) led the 'Runners with eight shots in the match, four of which were on goal.

Despite the struggle to finish opportunities, Gary Curneen, Bakersfield's head coach, was optimistic about his team's performance: “Tonight was a tough one to take, result-wise, but to be honest, I'm not bothered by it in the slightest. We needed a performance tonight here after Thursday night where we were pretty subdued. Tonight, I thought the women were phenomenal. I think we can look our fans in the eye tonight and be really proud of what we did.”  

With Bakersfield's final game of the regular season came Senior Night for four 'Runners. Taylor French (Monrovia, Calif., Maranatha HS), Sarah Cook (Las Vegas, Nev., Las Vegas HS), and Haley Hatfield (Sacramento, Calif., Christian Brothers HS) held down the fort on the backline for Bakersfield all night. The trio can be proud of the way they finished their careers at home, as Coach Curneen expressed: “We put [the seniors] under a bit of pressure. We needed something tonight after Thursday. If that's the way they are leaving their legacy on the soccer field here, it's a nice way to do it. I'm thrilled for them and I think the program needed that little push.”

Joining the trio as the final senior is Becca Ellis (Long Beach, Calif., Wilson HS) who was injured early on in the season and had to watch the match from the sideline. Ellis, along with her fellow seniors, all provided a large boost to the 'Runner women's soccer program.

Bakersfield (4-15-1, 3-7 WAC) will have a couple of days to recover and prepare for the WAC Tournament, slated to begin Nov. 6 in Seattle. Curneen believes his team learned vital lessons to prepare for the tournament and had this to say of what the team must do in order to succeed in postseason play: “When we're having a spell of a game where we're on top of it, you need to take your chances. When you're not on top of the game, you need to ride the storm. We need a little bit of work in both areas still.”

The final seedings for the WAC Tournament will be released tomorrow afternoon while Bakersfield expects to land in the middle of the pack. In all likelihood, the first game for the 'Runners will take place Thursday evening of next week. More information on the tournament as well as tickets can be found at the championships page on wacsports.com.

~www.GoRunners.com~