CHICAGO, Ill. - The Kalamazoo College women's soccer team continued it road stretch at North Park on Friday (Sept. 15). The Hornets got back into the winner's column by defeating the Vikings 2-1, and improving their record to 2-1-2.
"A strong collective effort by the women this evening," said head coach Bryan Goyings. "I thought we possessed the ball really well throughout the match, and were unfortunate to not find one or two more goals."
Kalamazoo returned to a familiar starting lineup with Elana Mitchell, Maddie Coffman, Ellie Andrews, Olivia DePauli, Savera Rajendra-Nicolucci, Anna Murphy, Elle Bernas, Holly Bowling, Izzy Kastel, Ruby Hogan, and Destiny Garcia.
The Hornets came out on the offensive attack to begin the game, outshooting the Vikings 8-0 in the first 24 minutes. It was that eight shot that turned into the first goal for Kalamazoo as Bernas took a North Park turnover and put away a breakaway goal for her third goal of the season. K only allowed three NPU shots in the first 45 minutes compared to 14 by the Hornets.
Kalamazoo extended its lead early in the second half as Bowling buried her second goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Murphy sent a through ball from the middle of the field to the left side of the box for the goal. Up 2-0, the defense helped Mitchell out in the net as the team made two defensive saves to keep the Vikings off the board. North Park did score one goal in the 88th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1, but Kalamazoo held on for the win.
Mitchell ended the game with two saves and the Hornets totaled more shots (24-10) and corner kicks (6-3). The Vikings had more saves (6-3) and K committed more fouls (11-4).
Goyings added, "Our depth played a role tonight. It was good to get a number of players minutes as we have a quick turnaround against a very strong North Central team tomorrow. Both in the attack and defensively, the midfield grouping of Anna, Savera, and Maddie really allowed us to control the game tonight."
Kalamazoo will continue its road stint at North Central tomorrow (Sept. 16), beginning at 7 p.m.