GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Kalamazoo College women's soccer team played its second game in as many days against Denison on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 11). After the majority of the game was scoreless, a goal in the 87th minute lifted the Hornets to a 1-0 win for their second win in a row.
"Tremendous effort from the team today," said Head Coach Bryan Goyings. "Quick turnarounds are tough, and the group was prepared to be ready to play. Denison is always a strong opponent, but our backline was organized, creating excellent scoring opportunities, and posted a shutout."
In the first half, Kalamazoo's defense stepped up in a big way after Denison outshot the Hornets 7-3. Out of those seven shots, the Hornets were stingy enough that only two of them had a chance at scoring. Offensively, Kalamazoo got one shot on net, but the score remained tied 0-0 heading into the half.
Play remained the same in the second half as Denison got five shots off compared to Kalamazoo's three. However, the Hornets made one of those shots count in the 87th minute to go up 1-0 and eventually take the win. Sydney Hagaman scored her first collegiate goal to give Kalamazoo the victory. Hagaman volleyed the ball to herself off a corner kick and took a shot that deflected off a Denison defender into the top left corner of the goal.
Coach Goyings also commented, "Set pieces can often be the difference in games. Sydney found the ball and got it into the net. Holly Bowling and Destiny Garcia also had impressive efforts by playing the full 90 minutes today."
Lexi Nesbitt (2-1-2) earned her first shutout of the season after making four saves in her second consecutive win in net. Denison had more shots (12-6) and corner kicks (5-4) for the game, while Kalamazoo collected more saves (4-1) and fouls (10-7).
"I am extremely proud of the effort this weekend. We have some challenging non-conference opponents coming up, and the MIAA will be a tough league this year. But, getting two results on the road against two historically strong programs is impressive, and I am happy to see the women rewarded for their hard work." said Coach Goyings.
Kalamazoo will stay on the road for their next game against Ohio Northern on Wednesday (Sept. 14), as kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Ada, Ohio.