For the women’s soccer team, this season’s best defense is a good offense. Trying to control the ball for the entire game and keeping it away from the opposition has created some lopsided victories in favor of the Bombers and their dynamic offensive powerhouse.

The team, ranked No. 8 in the New York region, has outscored its opponents 18–1 since its loss to William Smith College on Sept. 13.

But for this team, the loss seemed to do more good than bad. After the game, the Bombers decided to come together and focus on fixing what went wrong in the loss to move forward into the future.

Senior forward Chelsey Feldman said she noticed a change in the team’s chemistry after that game.

“We became a lot closer as a team,” she said. “We have been communicating a lot more.”

After scoring only three goals in the season’s first three games, it seemed as if the offense was going to be permanently dormant. However, since then the team has seen an explosion in its goal-scoring numbers. During the four-game win streak, two Bombers recorded three hat tricks, including two in one game by Feldman and junior Amy Scheffer.

“We are creating a lot of opportunities,” Head Coach Mindy Quigg said. “We have really focused on finishing every play.”

Those opportunities are the result of the Bombers simply having the ball longer than the other team. Creating those opportunities was more important than ever Saturday in the Bombers’ away game against Stevens Institute of Technology, which had a 44-game home unbeaten streak heading into the matchup. The statistics did not phase the Bombers — they won 2–0 and recorded 12 more shots than the Ducks.

The shots would mean nothing though, if the players could not finish with a goal. Feldman and juniors Winnie Adrien and Scheffer are leading the goal-scoring barrage for the Bombers.

Adrien, with 14 points as of the Stevens game, is a leading scorer for the Bombers, second only to Feldman. She said it is never an individual effort.

“We are always competing in practices,” she said. “In games we want to make it a point to play very well together.”

Each has played well during the course of the season, combining for 38 points. All three though, have performed when it mattered the most. Combined, they have five game-winning goals on the season, two each by Feldman and Scheffer.

By keeping the ball on the offensive side of the field, the defense is yielding nearly no shots on goal. When the opposition does shoot, sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Sotomayor typically saves it. She has three shutouts on the season and leads the defense, which has not allowed a goal in 196 minutes and 48 seconds.

During the win streak, the Bombers have faced tough competition, hostile environments and inclement weather, but none of the above have had an effect on this powerful offense. It proves that a good offense does create a good defense, whether or not they need one.

The Bombers will look to continue the offensive onslaught at 1 p.m. Saturday at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.