By Brandon Cruz

Emily Giron (right) finished with one shot in 90 minutes for the Panthers. (Photo by Paris Judy)
The Panthers Women’s Soccer team fell to the Manhattanville Valiants 5-0 on Oct. 23, failing to score in two straight games.
Emily Giron, a sophomore psychology major and midfielder for the Panthers, had the only shot taken for the Panthers in 90 minutes. Mia Castaneda, a senior forward for the Valiants, scored the only goal in the first half for both teams, before adding on two more in the second half alongside teammates Jenna Moraglia and Kailey Roxo, sealing the victory.
Sam Selmani, the father of sophomore psychology major Lindita Selmani and the Panthers' forward, watched the game from the crowd.
“Tremendous first half,” he said. “They were in it the whole time. In the second half, they just ran out of gas. It’s hard with no subs.”
Since their last win on Sept. 22, the Panthers have only scored a combined two goals in nine games. Jessica McHugh, a sophomore sociology major and midfielder for the Panthers, spoke about the team’s lack of scoring.
“We’re playing with one striker, and we’re playing really defensively,” she said. “So many injuries this season; it’s really hard but we’re working our best.”
Maggie Obman, a sophomore media studies major and defender for the Panthers, played in all 90 minutes of the game. She spoke more about some of the hardships the team has gone through in 2024.
“We’ve had injuries since preseason,” Obman said. “We’ve had injuries early in the season after the first few games. We’ve had lots of girls get sick and miss games, and now we’re having more injuries at the end of the season.”
Most recently, on top of losing midfielder Ava Kozak for the season, Rebecca Quick, a senior psychology major and forward, tore her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in her left leg, effectively ending her season. Bailey Carlon, a junior biochemistry major and defensive midfielder, was limited to just 11 minutes of play after suffering a concussion.
“We have one sub on the bench playing 90 minutes,” Head Coach Hardeepak Malvai, also known as Coach Nick, said. “That concussion took out a number 6 (defensive midfielder) for us, which is a big part of the game.”

Shannon Paulson (number 11) played 75 minutes for the Panthers. (Photo by Paris Judy)
Despite being short-handed, Malvai praised the way his team played, saying, “I’ll tell you, I’m proud of their effort. They played for 90 minutes, even being down.”
Valiants Head Coach Peter Coughlan spoke highly about his team’s performance in the win.
“I thought we had a really composed performance,” he said. “The girls moved the ball well, and they stuck to our game plan in terms of the way we wanted to approach the game and to play very patient with it.”
Castaneda scored a hat trick for the Valiants in 62 minutes of play. She said, “Our build-up play was really good. I was able to find space away from the defender, and my teammates found me, and that’s how we got the goals.”
The Valiants are currently fighting for a playoff spot in the Skyline Conference tournament. Coughlan wants to keep his team level-headed and prepared to end their season on a high note.
“We got two more games left to play,” Coughlan said. “Things are looking good, but until it’s set in stone, we’ll work hard and we’ll get back to the next game.”
For the Panthers, as their 2024 season comes to a close, Malvai applauded their progression, even through tough times.
“Every single game that they’ve played, they’ve progressively got better and better,” Malvai said. “But they’ve been depleted by injuries. Every step we go forward, we lose somebody and we go back a step. But as a group, they’ve improved game to game.”
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