FULTON, Mo.— The William Woods University women's soccer team continued its winning ways on Wednesday night, as the Owls won its fifth game in row, defeating Lindenwood University-Belleville, 3-2.
In a wild first 45:00 minutes of action in this American Midwest Conference (AMC) showdown, the scoring got started just 10:00 minutes in, as off a corner kick, the ball made its way outside the 18 yard box, but was kicked back in by Kathryn Blomenkamp near the six.
The ball, somehow, through a crowd of people, found the foot of Mia Hammermann, who was able to tip in her shot past, WWU goalie,
Ashley Parisi, to make it a 1-0 game in favor of Lindenwood-Belleville.
That score remained the same until the 18
th minute, as a foul was called on a Lady Lynx (9-6; 7-2 AMC) player, inside the 18 yard box, which awarded a penalty kick to WWU (8-6-2; 6-3-1 AMC).
Stepping up to the penalty dot was senior
Jordan McNamara and she buried her ninth goal of the year over the head of the LU-Belleville goalie, Raven Loughridge, to put the scoreboard at 1-1. After continued back-and-forth play, the Lady Lynx regained the lead, as after a clearance just outside the 18 yard box by the WWU defense, LU-Belleville's, Alex Scata, got the ball and crossed it into the box.
Awaiting was Kelsie Nesbit and she deflected the ball out of midair towards the net. The ball took a funny hop and rolled past Parisi into the net, making it a 2-1 outing. That lead, however, was short-lived, as just 10:00 minutes later, in the 42
nd minute,
Brooke Hendrix lifted a perfect ball up ahead for McNamara.
The Blue Springs, Missouri, native, headed the ball down, got control, used her speed to get past the defender and score again the equalizer, her 10
th on the year, to tie the score up at 2-2 heading into the break.
In the second half, the WWU offense continued rolling, as in the 50
th minute,
Elyssa Cappaert passed the ball up ahead for Halle Schroder. The Granite City, Illinois, native, dribbled up the left side of the field, fended off Lady Lynx defenders, got inside the 18 yard box and beat Loughridge on the near post, giving the Owls a 3-2 lead.
Trailing for the first time in the game, Lindenwood-Belleville, had a chance to tie the game back up, but Hammermann's shot attempt in the 58
th minute, went off the post.
The two offenses continued its pressure as the clock continued to tick down, but Loughridge and
Rebecca Sturgess, who came in for Parisi at the half, made key saves when needed.
The biggest save on the net for Sturgess came in the 81
st minute, as a hand ball was called on a WWU player, which gave the Lady Lynx a chance to tie the game up with a penalty shot.
Blanca Gomez, who entered the game with a team-high 10 goals, took her shot from the penalty dot, but Sturgess made a diving save to her right, which kept the lead secured at 3-2.
LU-Belleville had another chance in the 87
th minute to tie score up and force overtime, but Sturgess made the save and the Owls were able to hang on for the one goal victory.
The Owls totaled 13 shots in the game and were led by McNamara having five, while Schroeder contributed four. In goal, Sturgess made six saves in the second frame, while Parisi earned four.
With the win, the Owls have now 19 points in the AMC standings, which currently places them in fifth place overall. The team trails No. 3 seed, Lyon College, by three points and No. 4 seed, Lindenwood-Belleville, by two points now.
The Owls will hit the road one last time during the regular season this week, as they travel down I-70, for a showdown with Stephens College on Friday night. Kick-off will start at 6 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Thursday afternoon for a full preview of the game against the Stars.
