ITHACA, N.Y. -- Heidelberg University Women's Soccer Head Coach Maddie McLaughlin wanted to gauge her squad's preparedness early in the season by scheduling tough opponents. Despite a 1-0 loss to regional power Ithaca, McLaughlin was pleased with what she saw.

"The games at Geneseo and Ithaca were a good test for us as we prepare to build off of last year's success," said McLaughlin, while sitting on the Heidelbus traveling back from Upstate New York -- likely about to fall victim to yet another gentle Tiktok prank by her players because she is a good sport. "Do we have some things to work on? Of course. But I am very encouraged by what we saw this weekend."

The Bombers outshot The Berg, 15-4, but only managed one goal. The tally came in the 13th minute when Lilyana Baldi won a 50-50 ball that took a funny hop, broke in behind the 'Berg defense and slipped a shot past a sliding Brigid Enright. 

Though Ithaca held a distinct advantage in possession, Heidelberg had its chances to find the equalizer. The best chance came in the 76th minute when Mallory Zavatchen ran onto a ball in space just outside the penalty area. Two Bomber defenders and the goalkeeper converged on Zavatchen and her shot was deflected wide.  

Enright (0-1-1) made eight saves in the loss.

UP NEXT: Heidelberg opens up their home schedule on Saturday against the College of Wooster. The game will take place at 5 p.m. at the Hidden Valley Soccer Complex.  

A reminder to fans … In July, the Ohio Athletic Conference announced a media partnership with FloSports. The OAC's 23 sports will stream live exclusively on the FloCollege platform. 

FloCollege is available on the web and for download on mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as smart TVs and streaming devices, including Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV. FloSports offers both yearly and monthly subscription options, with discounts available to users with a heidelberg.edu email address. For more information and to subscribe, please visit https://www.bergathletics.com/flo