FULTON, Mo. -- In the regular season finale for the William Woods University women's soccer team, the Owls spent much of the game with a man advantage but couldn't break down a bunkering Park University squad, falling 3-0 on Monday night.
The Owls had an opportunity to take the lead in the 8th minute, as Ellen Ghirardi weakly punched at a cross served in from
Ashley Deckard (Granite City, Ill.) on a free kick, but
Jamie Palermo (Santa Fe, N.M.) wasn't able to get good contact on it as her header was saved by the Park keeper.
Park would take a 1-0 lead on a quick counter off that play, however. Ghirardi's short punt was played forward to Dana Hemmingsen. Hemmingsen took a couple of touches and even though
Kelly Abernathy (St. Charles, Mo.) slid out and forced the Pirate forward to push the ball wide, she was able to recover and find the net.
Another counterattack put the Owls down 0-2 in the 10th minute, as Hemmingsen found Juneille Watkins after a WWU turnover in midfield.
After earning back-to-back corner kicks in the 15th minute, WWU picked up another chance, but Palermo's effort was again saved by Ghirardi.
In the 16th minute, a foul was whistled on Park and after a brief discussion between the officials, a red card was shown to Park's Kathryn Dykes.
The Owls had a solid chance to cut the deficit in half in the 40th minute, but
Jordan McNamara's effort was turned away.
Coming out of halftime, WWU tried to break through the Park bunker, but their best chance came in the 60th minute as McNamara's effort was saved.
Park would add an insurance goal in the 66th minute, again on the counter as Nicole Hemmingsen played a long ball to Watkins, who was able to beat Abernathy.
William Woods wasn't able to find a way to penetrate the Pirate defense over the final half hour, closing out the regular season at 9-7-1 and 5-3 in AMC play. With the win, Park moves to 7-0 on the season and 9-6 overall.
Next up for the Owls is a first round matchup with Lyon College in the AMC Postseason Tournament. Kickoff for the match is set for 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at Firley Field.
