Box Score Rock Valley College Women's Soccer (0-1-0) dropped their first game of the season to Bryant and Stratton College (1-0-0). The Golden Eagles gave up two early first half goals off set pieces from just outside the 18-yard box. Play in the first half was a little back and forth with a few good saves from RVC keeper #0 Neema Tamang (Omaha, NE) and B&S keeper #18 Greta Harms. The Bobcats were very direct in their play, which created a few early chances after spells of RVC possession.
 
The second half was a much better performance from the Golden Eagles. RVC was able to get a goal back early in the second half with #5 Natalie Pacheco (St. Charles, IL) opening scoring after taking a diagonal ball from Lily Mendoza (Belvidere, IL), deftly rounding the goalkeeper, and finishing past the recovering defender. Natalie on getting off the mark with her first goal for the Golden Eagles, "I felt a lot of excitement and adrenaline as I scored the first goal of the season, and the support I got from the team was spectacular."
 
The Bobcats were dangerous on several counterattacks as RVC pushed to level the score. The last 20 minutes the Golden Eagles put the Bobcats under sustained pressure but couldn't find the back of the net. Rock Valley Head Women's Coach Kevan Watkins commented on the result, "Bryant and Stratton finished off the game very well. They made it difficult to create high percentage opportunities in the final third by getting numbers behind the ball. They always possessed the ability to be dangerous even when they sat very deep and didn't have the ball for stretches of the game. It was a good challenge for us to be put under a bit of pressure defensively, but also to know that we could continue to have the majority of possession against a strong opponent in Region IV. We must convert our possession into opportunities in the final third against tougher opponents we will face this season in NJCAA Division II."
 
The Golden Eagles will travel to Joliet Junior College (1-0-0) Saturday August, 27^th for a 1:00 PM kickoff.