LIMA, Ohio.—The William Woods University women's soccer teams' 2014 season came to a close in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon at the NAIA Opening Round, as the Owls fell to No. 8-ranked University of Northwestern Ohio, 4-0.
The Owls (12-7-3; 8-1-2 AMC), were outshot 23-5 in the game, with senior
Jamie Palermo leading the way with two shots, while
Sarah Krispin,
Jordan McNamara and
Rachel Meyer recorded one shot. In net, meanwhile,
Brittany Griffin collected eight saves, giving her 114 on the year, which is a career-high for the Mexico, Missouri, native.
"It certainly wasn't a poor performance, as there were a lot of swings up-and-down the field, especially in the first half, when I felt we had a bit better of the play through some segments," said head coach
Randy Hall. "We faced a very strong opponent today, and despite great effort across the board, we lacked quality of technical performance needed to win the game in a few big moments."
He added, "I was very pleased with another exceptional performance from Griffin today, as she snuffed out at least four really high quality opportunities by making very big plays."
In the first half, Griffin had to make a quick save on Laura Stone at the 7:03 mark, as the Racers (19-1-1; 8-1-1 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference) looked to gain the early advantage.
Stone had another scoring attempt in the 15
th minute, but her shot went off the post, keeping the game scoreless at 0-0. Then, at the 20:11 mark, the Racers finally broke though, as Alice Coyne found the back of the net, giving UNOH a 1-0 lead.
The Racers would continue to push its offense throughout the first 45:00 minutes of play, but the Owls defense and Griffin kept them from extending its one goal lead. WWU would then get its first and only shot at the 35:13 mark, but McNamara's attempt was blocked by Hannah Baines.
Both defenses' proved too tough to get past the final 10:00 minutes of play and as the horn sounded, UNOH headed into the break ahead 1-0.
In the second half, it was Coyne striking again, as she was able to dribble past the Owls defense at the top of the 18 yard box and rip her shot over Griffin into the back of the net, giving UNOH a 2-0 lead and her 15
th goal on the year, at the 47:02 mark.
The Owls would have a scoring chance just .48 seconds later, but Krispin's attempt was saved by goaltender Nadine Stonjek.
UNOH would total four more shots over the next 4:00 minutes, before WWU was able to total its second shot of the half, as a pass from McNamara found Palermo just outside the 18 yard box and the senior got by one defender, but her blast of a shot was right at Stonjek who came up with the save at the 52:34 mark.
After seeing two more shots go off the post, in the 58
th minute, Coyne received a pass up-field from Hanna Ruohomaa and Coyne was able to dribble her way into the box, fighting off the Owls defense and score her third goal on the day for the hat-trick, giving the Racers a 3-0 lead.
UNOH would score its fourth goal of the game in the 74
th minute, as Kaitlynn Gronas found the back of the net in the box, off an assist from Ella Huusko, to make it 4-0.
The Owls, however, continued to fight until the final horn sounded, as Griffin came up with save after save, while Palermo and Meyer totaled shots in the 86
th and 88
th minute, but despite its efforts, the team fell by four goals, ending its incredible season.
"I am very proud that the team achieved one of our annual goals of earning the right to represent the conference in the national tournament and we look forward to doing it again," Hall said. "While every season has its ups-and-downs, this team hit every game in stride and we were so competitive in every match. I set the goal to be a program that is nationally competitive when I arrived six years' ago and feel this group proved we are there, although I have felt we were for a few years' when 100 percent, but this year proves it to those outside the program."
He added, "Of our defeats, our only losses with more than a goal margin, are to teams that have earned a berth to the second round. Other than a goal in the final minute of play against Central Methodist University, while pushing numbers up to attempt a tie. So in retrospect, we put together quite a set of games, with only one loss in conference and the potential to win every game we played."
The Owls close out the 2014 season with its most American Midwest Conference (AMC) victories (eight) in program history, while its AMC Tournament Championship, is its first since the 2001 season.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com for a full 2014 season recap on the women's soccer team.
