By Kevin Lopez
The Raiders needed a bounce back win after their loss on Saturday and that’s exactly what the Grand Rapids Community College Women’s soccer team did as they won a close battle against St. Clair County Community College, 3-2.
It was evident that the Raiders learned from their loss against Lake Michigan College as they came out the gate with strong team communication and effort on the defensive end.
Despite the fact that St. Clair scored the first goal of the game, it didn’t deter the Raiders from supporting their teammates as they continued to cheer and uplift each other.
That allowed Abby Buttermore, a forward from Lowell, to score the Raiders first goal of the game with an assist from Lesli Luna, a midfielder from Grand Rapids.
That tied the game 1-1 and that gave their defense a much needed boost to keep St. Clair from scoring the rest of the first half.
Moving into the second half, it was a back and forth battle as each team struggled to score the ball before finally St. Clair scored their second goal of the evening on a breakaway.
In spite of the score, the Raiders continued their tenacity by putting the pressure on their opponents with their offense as they continuously attacked their defense.
Finally, thanks to a corner kick assist by Alexandria Ellsworth, a midfielder from Comstock Park, Buttermore was able to score to tie the game and then Buttermore scored once again off an assist from Allyson Seevers, a forward from Lowell to take the lead.
That was the nail in the coffin for St. Clair as the Raiders were able to play keep away with the ball to let the time run out to secure the victory.
This puts the Raiders back at .500 with a 4-4 record, a conference record of 3-4, and a home record of 4-1.
Buttermore now has 13 goals on the season and has scored the last five goals in a row for the Raiders.
“I would say my individual play helps the team by being a leader on the field and help uplift my teammates,” Buttermore said. “I’m just trying to be the best I can be for my team and our success.”
GRCC’s Head Coach Jason Hill felt that his team still needs to improve despite the win.
“Our opponent did a good job of trying to stop the things we were trying to do,” Hill said. “The things we can control like how hard we work, we really didn’t bring it and that’s something we have to figure out.”
Alena Amaya, a midfielder and co-captain from Grand Rapids, felt that the win was extremely important for the team.
“Winning is always a good feeling,” Amaya said. “It’s just a good feeling to come back from our rough game over the weekend and it definitely upped our intensity for the rest of the season.”
The Raiders look to end their losing streak on the road as they travel to Donaldson, Indiana to take on Marion University – Ancilla on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.
