HANNIBAL, Mo.—The William Woods University women's soccer team got back to the .500 mark on the season on Thursday afternoon, as the Owls defeated Hannibal-LaGrange University on the road, 4-1.
Things did not start out like the Owls (5-5-2; 4-1-2 AMC) would have hoped early in the first half, as just .23 seconds into the game, Juliana Lopes-Roberto received a throw-in inside the WWU box and she was able to pass the ball on over to Stephanie Hall, who tipped the ball into the back of the net, giving HLG (5-8; 4-4 AMC) a 1-0 lead.
That advantage, however, did not last too long, as in the fifth minute,
Ashley Deckard's corner kick was placed perfectly onto the head of
Jamie Palermo, who flicked the ball into the far corner of the net, which tied the game up at 1-1.
Then, just three minutes later, off yet another corner kick, Deckard's pass found Palermo at the top of the 18 yard box and the senior passed the ball off to junior
Jordan McNamara, who buried her ninth goal of the year and gave WWU a 2-1 lead.
The Owls would maintain its one goal lead until the 34:54 mark, as
Rachel Meyer received a pass from
Mackenzie Cork and the senior was able to turn away from a Lady Trojan defender and kick the ball just under the crossbar, scoring her fourth goal on the year and extending the Owls lead to 3-1 heading into the half.
After being outshot 9-8 in the first half, the WWU defense took over in the final 45:00 minutes, as they limited HLG to just one shot in the second half.
The scoring frenzy continued for the Owls in the 47
th minute, as McNamara dribbled inside the HLG box and was able to score inside the near post and give the Owls a 4-1 lead. The team continued its stellar play the rest of the half and they went on for the three goal victory.
"I am so proud of our performance today," said head coach
Randy Hall. "Hannibal-LaGrange is always a tough draw, as there program is really great at challenging and working hard from start-to-finish. Despite giving up a goal in the first minute, we stayed focused and played better than we have in a few weeks."
He added, "All four goals were of a high quality and I hope we can recreate that effort and effect the rest of the year," said Hall.
Offensively, the Owls outshot the Lady Trojans 12-10 and were led by Palermo totaling six, while adding one goal and one assist. McNamara added four shots and scored a game-high two goals, while
Sarah Krispin and Meyer added one shot a piece.
After allowing the early goal,
Brittany Griffin was impressive the rest of the outing, as the Mexico, Missouri, native made four saves.
The Owls will now look to win its third game in a row on Saturday afternoon, as the team travels to Benedictine University at Springfield. Kick-off will start at 1 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Friday afternoon for a full preview of Saturday's game.
