While the Eagle faithful prepare for the women’s basketball team to start play in the coming weeks, the fans and supporters of Ashland University Athletics have another nationally-ranked side to keep their eyes on.
For four weeks straight now, the Eagle women’s soccer team has been ranked as the No. 1 team in the country in the Division II United Soccer Coaches (USC) Top 25 NCAA Division II poll. The high praise comes after the Eagles remained undefeated on the season, taking down two of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) teams this past week.
On Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Eagles went up against the Walsh University Cavaliers at home at Ferguson Field. Both sides were undefeated on the season heading into the outing, but the Eagles would come out on top, giving the Cavaliers its first loss.
They were able to walk away with a 4-0 shutout win over the Cavaliers, with four different players finding goals.
The Eagles would find scores from freshman Clara Richardson, junior Avery Rosso and seniors Allison King and Peyton Starner. The clean sheet would be Eagle goalkeeper Mackenzie Simon’s seventh of the season as she recorded four saves.
Just three days later the Eagles would stay at home as they took on a GMAC rival, the Cedarville Yellow Jackets. In the 2022 fall season the two parties split the season series going 1-1. However, the notable victory came for the Eagles in the conference tournament championship where they would be crowned GMAC Champions with the 1-0 win over the Yellow Jackets.
In the first appearance since, the Eagles dominated in a 3-1 win this past Saturday. The Eagles outshot the Yellow Jackets, 13-4, once again proving that the combination of the team’s offense and defense is one of the best in the nation.
They allowed just one goal, the team’s second allowed on the season, while finding two from freshmen Sydney Polen and Ella Schneider, and one sophomore Dani Hicks.
Through nine games on the season, the Eagles have knocked in 24 goals while allowing just two. They have also outshot opponents on an average of 14-6 per game.
The Eagles have now been ranked as the No. 1 team in the country in the USC poll since Sept. 12.
The 8-0-1 Eagles now look to keep the undefeated streak alive as they gear up to take on the Lake Erie College Storm on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with kickoff set for 8:00 P.M. and the Thomas More Saints on Saturday, Oct. 7 with gametime set for 3:00 P.M.
