The Ashland University women’s soccer team traveled to Allendale, Mich. to take on the Grand Valley State Lakers in a non-conference outing to kick off the 2023-24 fall season.
The Eagles, who were looking to start the season out on a high note after securing a conference title last fall, came out of the gates swinging. They were able to keep the Lakers on their heels as the relentless pressure and brick-wall defense led to a victory on the road.
To open the first half of play, the Eagles displayed new faces with goalkeeper Mackenzie Simon, defenders Adi Turnbaugh and Hope Evans, midfielder Ella Schneider and forward Allison King receiving their first starts with the Eagles.
Both teams battled back and forth with the Eagles piecing together a few quick offensive attacks that backed the Lakers up early.
In the 10th minute of play, a small mistake would drastically affect the outing.
After a ball was played back from a Laker defender, goalkeeper Kendall Robertson misread the ball, fumbling it back past her and into the goal. That would give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
For the remainder of the first half the Eagles opted to pump the breaks and sit back defensively. At times, Head Coach Cayleb Paulino threw eight of the 10 field players back to avoid an equalizer.
Heading into halftime, the Eagles had sole control of the outcome of the outing. With impeccable defense and consistent midfield play, the Eagles entered the second half with confidence.
They would go on to take three shots through the first seven minutes of the second half, putting pressure on the Lakers to avoid another goal.
The next shot of the outing did not come until 20 minutes later when Laker forward Abby Winn attempted to tie up the game. Her shot would be ultimately saved by Simon.
For the remaining 18 minutes the Eagles sat in the backseat as the Lakers pounded them on the offensive side of things with three shots and two more corners occuring, yet they still did not allow one to go into the back netting. The final score favored the Eagles with a 1-0 win, giving them momentum heading into the next two non-conference outings.
The Eagles finished with five shots compared to the Lakers 11, while Simon finished the outing with six saves and Robertson recorded one. The two sides finished with a total of 14 fouls, with physicality being a prime factor in the outing.
The Eagles now turn their attention to a revenge outing against Rollins, who took them down in non-conference play last season. The two sides took on one another in Winter Park, Fla. in the second contest of the 2022 fall season where the Tars defeated the Eagles, 2-0.
They will go toe-to-toe on Saturday, Sept. 2, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. at Ferguson Field on the campus of Ashland University.
