Box Score ATCHINSON, Kan.- The William Woods University women's soccer team had high hopes for an upset win in its season opener at No. 24-ranked Benedictine College, however, the Owls were unable to slow down the Ravens offense on Monday night, as the Owls fell 5-2.

Raven junior Jordan Francescon started the 2014 season right where she left off last year, recording a hat-trick against William Woods (0-1-0) and tying her career-high with three goals.

The match-up against Benedictine College (1-0-0) was off to a quick start right out of the gate with the Owls finding the back of the net first, as junior Sarah Krispin, recorded her first collegiate goal as an Owl, just 2:16 minutes into the game, giving WWU the early momentum and the 1-0 lead.

The Ravens did not stay quite much longer after Cappaert's goal, as Maggie Hair gave Benedictine their first goal of the 2014 season at the 4:59 mark.

Shortly after, Bridget Brotherton connected with Francescon for her first goal of the night, which gave the Ravens the edge 2-1 over the Owls.

Then, with nine minutes left in the first half, Francescon got past the Owls defense and put in her second goal of the half to give the Ravens a 3-1 advantage going into the break.

Coming out of half, the Owls were in hopes of closing the gap with the Ravens, but Bethany Smith and Francescon, added a goal apiece in the first minutes of the second half to give the Ravens a 5-1 lead. 

Junior Jordan McNamara scored the Owls second goal of the night in the 57^th minute of the second half, on an assist from Ashley Deckard, trying to give WWU a boost of energy against the stingy defense of Benedictine, but the comeback was not to be, as the Ravens held on for the three-goal victory.

McNamara led the Owls in the shot department, totaling a team-high two on goal, while goaltender Brittany Griffin made six saves on the night.

"I am very proud of how the team fought tonight," said head coach Randy Hall. "We came out strong in the second half, didn't give up and we played hard the whole game."

Hall was pleased with the effort his squad showed tonight especially the freshmen, which some played significant minutes in the match-up.
"It was exciting to see some freshmen really step up and play big minutes for us tonight," added Hall. "It showed what we can really do with our depth this season, especially against an athletic team like Benedictine." 

William Woods will return to action on September 5^th as they travel to Canton, Mo. to face Culver-Stockton College. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. 

Check back with wwuowls.com for a preview and full recap of this and every game this season.
 Tweet ##Owls_WSOC