The Ashland University women’s soccer team cannot stop winning, and although the team traveled over five hours south to take on the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers, no challenge presented itself in a dominating win.
The Eagles and Panthers went toe-to-toe at Panther Field to cap off the Eagles’ road trip and waltzed away with an easy 6-0 decision at the end of 90 minutes.
“This has been an emotional rollercoaster for us. Getting over the No. 1 ranking has been a focal point,” said Head Coach Cayleb Paulino. “Everyone is ready to write the article, storm the field, whatever it may be.”
For the Eagles, Saturday’s outing against the Panthers would not be one of those occasions.
In the first half of play, the Eagles dominated, recording a season-high 15 shots, with seven being on goal. Due to the incredible amount of time spent on the offensive prowl, the Eagles took seven corner kicks.
Through the 15 shots, the Eagles were able to find two goals. Freshman forward Sydney Polen was on fire as she knocked in both, coming in the 24th and 27th minutes.
The Panthers on the other hand had zero shots, zero corner kicks and no offensive production.
The Eagle defense remained to be one of the top teams in the country as they helped make goalkeeper Mackenzie Simon’s job easier, with little to no pressure being applied from the Panther offense.
Heading into halftime the Eagles sat with a comfortable 2-0 lead over the Panthers on the road.
“I was really pleased with the response of the group after Thursday night‘s result,” said Paulino. “I know the group was disappointed in not coming out with a win on Thursday.”
That disappointment translated into motivation and just like the first half, the second half would showcase a similar storyline as the first. The Eagles outshot the Panthers, 16-1, breaking their season-high in shots-in-a-half that they set in the first half.
Of those 16 shots, nine would be on goal as the Eagles slotted in four more goals to bring the match total to six.
The four goals would be scored by forward Allison King in the 51st minute, forward Dani Hicks in the 57th minute, midfielder Emily Pate in the 65th minute and forward Vanessa Menchofer in the 84th minute.
The goals from Pate and Menchofer would be their first of the 2023-24 season.
“We knew that after playing a tough match Thursday we were going to have to rely on our depth to get us through the second game in 48 hours,” said Paulino. “I thought a lot of players took advantage of their opportunity Saturday and we had multiple players get on the score sheet and get their first goals of the year.”
The Panthers were unable to produce any sort of response to the ever-crushing pressure the Eagles instilled on both sides of the field. The final score favored the Eagles, 6-0.
With the win, the Eagles were able to improve its record to 6-0-1 after wrapping up the teams road trip. The Eagles will return home as they gear up to take on the Walsh Cavaliers on Wednesday, Sept. 27 with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. and the Cedarville Yellowjackets on Saturday, Sept. 30 with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m.
