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Women's Soccer celebrates first victory since 2006 with shutout at home

WASHINGTON, D.C. - You have to excuse the Gallaudet University women's soccer team for its celebration on Sunday afternoon as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard at Hotchkiss Field. The Bison jumped up and down, exchanged hugs, yelled in excitement and even dosed their coach Sarah Gumina with water to celebrate the 2-0 shutout over Patrick Henry College on the final day of the GU 1st Annual Tournament.

Women's soccer victories have been rare for the Bison over the years. Gallaudet last won a game on October 30, 2006 with a 5-1 victory over Mary Baldwin College a streak of 37 games.

Today's victory has been a long time in the making for the Buff and Blue. The Bison suffered a long 0-18 season in '08 under Gumina, who returned to GU after she coached the Bison in 2002 when they tied the school record with seven wins.

The Bison feature a tremendous freshman class. In fact, over half of the starting line-up are freshmen and on Sunday the Class of 2013 earned their first collegiate victory and celebrated with teammates who have never won and for the seniors the first win since their freshman year.

"This is only the fourth game of the year and this freshman class has showed they can play at the collegiate level. They showed signs today that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future," said Gumina.

Gallaudet (1-2-1) got on the board first when freshman Johanna Arrigo (Ewing, N.J.) floated a shot over Patrick Henry goalie Tara Bennett (six saves) seven minutes into the game. The Bison continued to pressure the Sentinel (2-4) goal as GU rifled off nine shots in the first half. GU added a second goal off the foot of senior Samantha Bulewich (West Springfield, Mass.) in the 38th minute as the Bison enjoyed a 2-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Bison defense stepped up to the challenge and limited Patrick Henry to seven shots and four corner kicks. GU freshman goalie Kara Gulvas (Crown Point, Ind.) made 11 saves, the second most in a game for her young career, to earn her first victory in net for the Bison.

"Kara made some huge saves today. She did an outstanding job," said Gumina. "Plus, Janaee Cobbs came up with a huge header to save a goal for us in the second half. The defense played great."

This season the Bison players wear practice t-shirts with the saying "It is a beginning of a new tradition" on the back. A slogan Gallaudet lived up to on Sunday and for Gumina and company a slogan they hope to uphold the rest of the way in '09.

"This is only the beginning. We are not the same team as in years past. We will give people a run for their money this season," said Gumina.

Sunday, September 13
Gallaudet 2, Patrick Henry 0 | Box Score
Trinity (DC) 1, Washington Adventist 0 | Box Score
Valley Forge Christian 5, Mary Baldwin 0 | Box Score

Saturday, September 12
Gallaudet 1, Valley Forge Christian 1 | Box Score
Trinity (DC) 1, Patrick Henry 0 | Box Score
Washington Adventist 3, Mary Baldwin 0 | Box Score