FAYETTE, Mo. - For 85 minutes, William Woods (1-1) stood toe-to-toe with no. 5-ranked Central Methodist (2-0), answering the Eagles chances with opportunities of their own. Unfortunately, Woods fell by a 4-0 scoreline in the match, although both of CMU's first-half goals came against the run of play.
"We played a tough game against a top competitor," said head coach
Lauren Robb. "I'm proud of the strong mentality we showed, and our plan is to bring that to the next game. We learn from this one and focus on the next one."
The Owls had the first serious chance of the contest, as
Tess Roberts found herself on the end of a cross and forced Madison Priebe to parry the shot wide.
Central Methodist scored the first goal against the run of play, as the Eagles were able to answer a Woods attack with a quick counterattack, as Kirstine Lykke finished the run with a ninth-minute strike.
Woods continued to press after giving up the early goal, but found themselves down 2-0 in the 15th minute. CMU sent a long ball, finding Lacey Ann Miller on the left wing. As the Eagle forward turned toward goal, she tumbled to the ground as she crossed into the 18-yard-box, alongside pursuing defender
Lydia Sims. The center official signaled for a penalty kick, judging that contact had occurred inside the box.
WWU nearly pulled one back in the 37th minute, as
Bri Reynolds ran onto a pass in right side of the box. She sent a cross in front of the goal along the six-yard box, but CMU was able to clear the danger.
After the halftime break, the Owls came out on the front foot, with
Tess Roberts nearly pulling one back in the 49th minute, as she was able to round Priebe and get to the end line. Unfortunately, the Eagles back line was able to recover.
Hanna Loethen had a great chance for the Owls in the 63rd minute as she raced down the left wing and sent a hard cross into the area. Her cross was bobbled by Priebe but immediately gathered.
CMU was able to add a third goal in the 85th minute off of a corner kick and another in the 87th.
Next up for the Owls is a trip to Oskaloosa, Iowa, as they take on William Penn in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
