KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College women's soccer team had its season opener on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 3) against Millikin at MacKenzie Field. The Hornets ended up with their second 1-1 draw to open the season, scoring the game-tying goal late in the first half.
After both teams went back and forth in the midfield to open the game, Millikin broke through with the first goal in the 23rd minute. Bailee Blecker converted on a breakaway after the defense cleared the ball. Then, in the 42nd minute, the Hornets drew even as Cassidy Short second her second goal of the season. The ball bounced around in front of the net as Short flicked the ball over the defender for the goal.
"I thought the effort from the group today was outstanding," said Head Coach Bryan Goyings. After going down a goal, it was a big ask for the group to equalize. However, Mara Krupka did a great job serving the ball into the box, and Cassidy's persistence allowed us to tie it up before half."
Each team had chances in the second half but could not score another goal. Finally, Maddie Coffman came through with a big defensive save in the 70th minute to keep the score tied. The ball slipped through a group of players and rolled slowly towards the goal line until Coffman booted it out of harm's way.
Coach Goyings was pleased with the team effort, stating, "There were some excellent moments today and certainly some areas that we want to focus on improving. But, above all, the effort of the group to stay focused and fight for 90 minutes was tremendous and should serve us well moving forward."
Lexi Nesbitt (0-0-2) gained her second season tie after finishing with three saves on four opportunities. As a team, Kalamazoo was outshot by Millikin 13-8 for the game, but the Hornets collected more saves (4-1) and corner kicks (7-4).
Kalamazoo will be back in action against nationally-ranked Chicago on Wednesday (Sept. 7), with kick-off scheduled for 4 p.m. at MacKenzie Field.