Hornets Earn First Win of 2006 Season; Shut-Out Benedictine Univ. by 5-0 Score
September 3, 2006
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Hornets Earn First Win of 2006 Season; Shut-Out Benedictine Univ. by 5-0 Score September 3, 2006 |
The Kalamazoo College women's soccer team recorded its first win of the young 2006 soccer season with a convincing 5-0 victory over Benedictine Univ. (IL) in the Hornets' final game of the 2006 Hornet/Briton Classic. Four different Hornet players were involved in all of Kalamazoo's scoring for the day.
Early on, the Hornets put to rest any concerns over fatigue from the previous day's OT game vs Manchester, when the team scored the game's first goal in just the 23rd minute of play. In front of a large and rambunctious crowd which included the entire Hornet football team, senior forward Lizzy Hauslein played a through-ball into the box for freshman midfielder Katie Manstrom. Manstrom collected the ball with composure, took a touch or two, and then shot the ball easily past the Benedictine goalkeeper to put the Hornets up 1-0. The crowd went wild, and with the extra energy and enthusiasm in the air, Kalamazoo went on to score 3 more goals in a less than 10 minute span. Next, sophomore midfielder Kelly Lepper hit a low, driven shot from the left side of the 18-yard-box in the 26th minute. She struck again just 4 minutes later, off a pass from Hauslein. Finally, junior forward Aliza Caplan completed the first-half scoring with a goal in the 32nd minute, assisted by Manstrom.
The second half was calmer than the first, and Kalamazoo was only able to find the back of the net one more time. The goal occurred in the 66th minute of play, when Caplan got her 2nd goal of the game from Lepper, who played a nice through ball into the Benedictine 18-yard-box for Caplan to slot past the onrushing goalkeeper.
"It was a good win for us," said Hornet Head Coach Laura Passage. "We were able to get a lot of our players some quality minutes, which is important early in the season as our coaching staff continues to make positional decisions. A win like this also builds a lot of confidence for our players coming into next weekend's game against North Park, which should be a tough match-up."
The Hornets will face up next against North Park Univ. (IL) on Saturday 9/9 (12:00pm), in a re-match of last year's double-overtime thriller which ended in a 2-2 deadlock.