ST. LOUIS – Having lost three in a row and nine of their last ten, the Missouri Baptist University Women's Soccer team wanted to get off to a fast start against William Woods University on Saturday. What happened was not exactly what the Spartans had in mind. The Owls got on the scoreboard in the first two minutes of the game. However, the Spartans summoned a healthy dose of resolve and battled back for a 1-1 draw.
Just a minute and 14 seconds into the game the Owls' leading scorer Megan Hughes rifled a left-footed shot past Spartans' keeper
Gabby Mattli to give the visitors a lead. It was the type of goal and the type of start that may have caused the Spartans to lose hope had it happened earlier in the season.
Instead, it seemed to inspire the Spartans.
Nearly twenty minutes into the match, Senior forward
Skylar Hollingshead made a nifty move down the sideline and was tripped up and fouled very near the corner to the right of the Owls defensive goal. Fellow senior
Madi Dunahue stepped up to take the free kick near the end line. Her cross met a horizontal run from
Gianna Gore perfectly, and the senior from Union, Mo. made no mistake, taking the ball in the air and sending it past a surprised William Woods goalkeeper. The goal, the first of the season for Gore and the second assist on the year for Dunahue, tied the game at 1-1.
Both goals occurred in the first twenty minutes of play, but that would be the entirety of the scoring as the teams fought to a draw.
On the day, WWU had more shots (18 to eight) than MBU, but the Spartans were able to match the Owls in the only statistic that mattered.
The Spartans were shorthanded in this game as forward
Morgan Hollenbeck and defender/midfielder
Jamie Theusch both had to sit this one out due to being sent off with two yellow cards a piece against Harris-Stowe State University last time out on Wednesday.
The draw leaves the Spartans with an 2-10-1 record, which includes an 1-2-1 record in the American Midwest Conference. Another AMC foe, Williams Baptist University, will visit Spartan Field on Wednesday, with the matchup scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
