MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois women's soccer team opened up Summit League play with a 2-1 victory over Oakland at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
The Westerwinds (5-1-0, 1-0-0 Summit League) got on the board first when junior
Katelyn Wisner (Lenexa, Kan./Olathe East) received a
Bess Rapp pass and found herself one-on-one with the keeper. Wisner snuck it past goalkeeper Kim Herbst to give the Westerwinds a 1-0 lead with only 3:57 coming off the clock.
“It was a big win for us today,” stated head coach Tony Guinn. “It was our first win in conference and it is very good to start off right in conference play. We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half which almost came back to haunt us. Our defense did a good job at holding off the pressure to help us walk away with a win.”
Western got an insurance goal in the 27th minute when junior
Ashley Hoch (Brookfield, Wis./Central) also found herself one-on-one with the keeper. Hoch was able to unload a shot into the back right corner of the net. Hoch's first goal of the season gave Western a 2-0 lead.
Oakland (2-4-0, 0-2-0 Summit League) cut the lead in half in the second period as senior Kristi Tomczyk took a shot from 18 yards out in the 71st minute that hit off the fingertips of Westerwinds' keeper sophomore
Meghan Tyk (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) and into the left side of the net.
The Grizzlies turned up the pressure in the last 20 minutes trying to find a game-tying goal. The Westerwinds defense rose to the challenge and held off the Grizzlies' surge to prevail with a 2-1 victory.
Tyk had four saves in her third-straight victory and sophomore
Teresa McDonnell (Springfield, Ill./Springfield) came up with a key team save, heading the ball out of the box to prevent a game-tying goal.
“My defense was a rock today,” said Tyk. “Teresa's (McDonnell) save on the corner kick was key because the game really could have changed directions if she didn't make that save. The defense communicated well and Kim (Schuneman) and Lainey (Bruhn) really shut things down. I owe a lot of the win to my defense because they were very solid today.”
The Westerwinds were able to revenge a loss from last year's conference championship game where they fell to Oakland in penalty kicks. The win was the second in school history for the Westerwinds over the Grizzlies with the last win coming in 2005.
Western will head to Eastern Illinois to play the Panthers Friday, September 21 at 3 p.m. The team will return to John MacKenzie Alumni field where they are 4-0-0 to host William Woods Sunday, September 23, at 1 p.m.
