The women’s soccer team wrapped up its season with a 7-1 loss against Lake Forest College last Friday in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament.

The Pioneers’ loss at the tournament is not indicative of their season, considering the team had a successful season that recorded eight shutouts. However, the team failed to see the same success at this year’s Conference tournament.

The contest with Lake Forest was not the first one of the year. Having played a close game against the Foresters earlier last month, the team was anxious to turn the tables around. But Lake Forest brought an unexpected game plan that threw the Pioneers off guard.

“I don’t know if it was necessarily that we were playing poorly,” said Morgan Sullivan ’15. “But it was just that they were playing really well. Everything that they did was spot-on … They played much better against us than the first time, so it was bit of a shellshock when they first came out because we weren’t necessarily expecting that.”

By the first half, Lake Forest gained a 6-0 lead, leaving only a sliver of hope for a comeback. But despite the score, the Pioneers ceased to be discouraged.

“We really regrouped after the first half,” Sullivan said. “We talked as a team and we said, ‘You know this will probably be our last half for the season and for the seniors this will be their last 45 minutes of soccer’ … We still tried to work our way back into the game and continued to fight even though we might have known that the outcome was going to stay the same.”

The game ultimately ended with a heartbreaking score, but after much reflection, the Pioneers found the last game to be a promising reminder of team effort.

“[The game] reaffirmed the love of my team,” Sullivan said.  “We came together at half and we were like, ‘Love you guys, no matter what happens. This is our last game together.’ It showed the strength and the chemistry of our team.”