Box Score Aug. 30, 2014 – Day two of the Mount Mary College Invitational saw the Concordia-Chicago women's soccer team take on the Blackburn College Beavers from southern Illinois. The Cougars again dominated the action with a significant possession advantage, outshot the Beavers 26 to 2 and won the game 2-0.
Natalie Weinhold (St Peters, MO/Lutheran St Charles) scored both goals and was assisted by
Nikki Anderson (Montgomery, IL/Oswego) both times.
"We improved our possession today," said CUC head coach
Thomas Goines. "The ball movement was crisper and did not stick to our feet as much as yesterday. However, we still have work to do in switching the point of attack and being patient."
CUC dominated possession throughout the entire game. In the 24
th minute, Anderson's pass opened the field for Weinhold to put away the goal. The sequence was repeated in the 31
st minute as
Sarah LaCost (Mount Prospect, IL/Prospect) heel-flicked a cross to Anderson who headed the ball over a defender and then played it in front of goal for
Natalie Weinhold to put away for the 2-0 margin and the final score.
Late in the first half,
Hillary Campbell (Dyer, IN/Lake Central) drilled a shot off the cross bar that hit the keeper in the shoulder.
Katie Biga (Centerville, OH/Centerville) was lurking in the goal box, but the keeper just managed to fall on the ball before Biga could score.
In the second half, the best chances came from
Alisha Johnson (Coal City, IL/Coal City) on the right side of the field and
Elizabeth Sanders (St Louis, MO/Parkway West) in the center. Neither resulted in a goal, but it would not prove a concern as the Cougars' defense kept the Beavers from mounting any serious scoring threats.
"This was really a team victory as we played a quick turnaround with two matches in less than 24 hours," said Goines. "Our team depth showed as we played 27 players in the match today. The quality of our bench will be a significant factor in our success this season."
On the defensive side of the ball,
Megan Albregts (Romney, IN/McCutcheon) did a yeoman's work at various positions on the defensive line and in the midfield for the fourth straight game. Two freshman,
Kaely Fitterling (Bridgeton, MO/Pattonville) and
Caycee Benesch (Hanover Park, IL/Schaumburg), contributed significant minutes on the defensive line as starters were rotated heavily.
The Cougars opening home game in River Forest is on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Beloit College.
