ELSAH, IL – The Panthers Women's Soccer team hosted their fellow Panthers from Greenville University for a conference tilt on Tuesday evening. Principia came in unbeaten in conference play through three games, but knew this match would be their toughest test yet against last season's defending champions.
The game ended up being a defensive battle as the home side held off the potent Greenville attack all night. With ten minutes remaining and the game still tied 0-0, Principia came close to taking the lead when
Kaylee Kleist was able to get in behind Greenville's defense as her shot just missed wide. Principia's defense held firm until two minutes after Kleist's chance when Greenville broke the deadlock on a counter attack and scored the game's lone goal.
Christin Walls was once again stalwart in goal, especially early in the game when the visitors had a flurry of chances. Walls finished with 10 saves on the night. The Panthers' defense continues to impress and make games difficult for opponents.
"The effort from the team was incredible," said Coach Thomas afterwards. "We talked about being 'Mentality Monsters' heading into this stretch of conference games, and we showed that tonight. We were obviously disappointed to allow the goal so late in the game after 80+ minutes of great effort, but we responded really well. After the goal, we continued attacking and didn't stray from the game plan. We need to continue improving our execution of details, but we've taken big strides recently, and we're seeing that in our performances consistently."
Up Next: The Panthers travel down to St. Louis on Saturday to play Fontbonne University at Clayton High School at 3:00 pm.
Hear more comments from Coach Thomas after the game:
