ELSAH, IL – The Principia Women's Soccer team got to know their new conference opponent from Arkansas, Lyon College, when they hosted the Scots for a match on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers came away with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in one of their best performances of the season as they stayed unbeaten in SLIAC play.
In the 10th minute,
Myka Fenton stole the ball from a Lyon attacker and found
Sarah Smith at the halfway line. Smith turned her marker and slipped
Kaylee Kleist through on the wing. Kleist cut her defender at the top of the box and curled in a great shot under the bar to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Lyon was able to score an equalizer midway through the first half, but 10 minutes later, Principia answered. Fenton took control of a ball on the wing and hit a high, long shot which tipped off the goalkeeper's fingertips for her first collegiate goal. The Panthers locked down defensively in the second half and preserved the 2-1 lead for their second straight conference win.
Fenton had a great game today with her high defensive work-rate and being a key part of both goals.
Adriana Rucks was a welcome addition returning from injury to the midfield who helped the Panthers with both defensive energy and attacking connections.
Zayana Brown brought her usual outstanding midfield disruptive presence and added excellent penetrating passes which sparked many Principia attacks.
Amarachi Ejimadu,
Olivia Scott, and
Shayla Kelley did a wonderful job on the back line, defending Lyon's strong attackers especially well.
Despite the intense heat and a shorter bench than normal, the Panthers showed off their energy and finishing quality in the first half and then their grit and resilience in the second half. After a dominant first 45 minutes with possession and shots, the team spoke at halftime about how to manage the heat without many subs. The result was a solid defensive shutout in the second half with a 6-1 ratio on corner kicks in their favor. The team and coaches were super proud of the resolve the group showed to earn a quality win.
Coach Thomas said afterwards: "We spoke from the beginning of preseason about how our non-conference schedule was truly an extended preseason for us. We have a young team and we knew it would take time for us to find our feet, metaphorically speaking. We stayed true to our goals, kept working hard and trusting the process, and we're seeing the payoffs now. We've put in several good performances in a row now and are gaining confidence from the results of our efforts."
Up Next: The Panthers are excited to keep building on their conference success so far with a stern test against Greenville at home on Tuesday at 8:00 pm.
Hear more comments from Coach Thomas after the game:
