“I thought we actually started pretty great,” Corradi said despite giving up the two goals. “After that, we just totally eliminated a lot of those mistakes in our d zone. And then they fought back and it’s good to see they can come back after an early deficit.”  

The Crimson’s (1-0,1-0) performance was fitting, as Corradi said her team’s theme this year is “battle.” Following the trend throughout sports of having a prop to use to signify a specific feat or performance (like the University of Miami football team’s turnover chain from a few seasons ago), Corradi surprised her team with an army helmet after the game.  

“They had no clue I even had that, so I whipped that out to someone who’s absolutely battled on and off the field in between games and in games,” Corradi said. “Caitlin Coughlin got it for her performance for the last two weeks.” 

On top of her battling, Coughlin picked up an assist in the win tonight.  

The whole team bought into that mindset, as the Crimson held the Cougars (0-1, 0-1) to six goals after they averaged 15.6 per game last season.  

On the attack, Ella Olson was the standout. After scoring a team-high 30 goals last year, Olson picked up right where she left off with four goals tonight. Although that’s not something she’s focused on.  

“Points are points, that’s not my main focus,” she said. “My main focus is helping everyone out and be the leader that I am and make sure everyone has confidence.” 

Corradi certainly has confidence in Olson, and it showed late in the game. With the Crimson leading 10-6 with less than two minutes to go, Olson got a chance at an eight-meter shot. In that situation, Corradi would usually call the shot off and retain possession to wind the clock down. With Olson set to take it though, she adjusted her game plan. 

“I said ‘If you know you can bury it, just take it,’” Corradi said. “And she ripped it past the goalie, so that was nice to see.”  

Olson herself said she was practicing eight-meters yesterday and wasn’t hitting the net consistently. Once she stepped up after a hat trick though, there wasn’t much of a doubt on the outcome.  

“I feel like I’m doing pretty good with my shot tonight, so as long as I believe in myself I can rip it.”