MACOMB, Ill. – In the first of four Summit League matches to close out the year, Western Illinois (6-8-2, 1-3-0) fell 1-0 to Fort Wayne (4-9-1, 1-1-1) on Sunday (Oct. 20).

"We had four clear-cut chances to score a goal in the first half," said head coach Ted Flogaites. "We just have to be able to convert opportunities into actual goals. To be that dominant in the first half and produce nothing does not yield results at the Division I level. The game should have been over in the first 30 minutes."

Sarah Wright nearly put the Leathernecks in front in the 5th minute, but Sam Pavlika made the first of her eight saves to deny the junior.

The Fighting Leathernecks thought they grabbed the lead in the 22nd minute but Sarah Hall was whistled for fouling Pavlika.

Western continued to control the possession and pressure the Mastodon defense resulting in Sloane Levin forcing the Mastodon goalkeeper to make two saves in less than a minute.

Laura Atkinson was called up to make a crucial save just three minutes later when Gaby Romo got in behind the Leatherneck defense. The senior was up to the task, keeping the match scoreless.

Following halftime, the Mastodons found themselves in front less than two minutes in. Andie Lazzerini gathered the ball 40-yards out and made her way past the Western defense, placing her shot past Atkinson to give Fort Wayne the 1-0 lead.

"We gave up a goal that was an individual goal," Flogaites said. "It was a moment of brilliance. She deserved a goal for that."

The Leathernecks nearly equalized three minutes later off a corner, but Jennika Myer's shot was cleared off the line.

Late in the match, Western Illinois continued to push numbers forward. Western had two final chances to force overtime but Hall's shot was saved by Pavlika and Amber Davis' shot went wide right.

Western Illinois recorded 20 shots; eight of them were on goal. Davis led the way with four shots, while Levin, Wright, Hall and Myers each had three.

"(Scoring) is the simplest and hardest thing to do in the game, but until then we're going to continue to be in nail-bitters," Flogaites added. "We have three games left to play. With this loss, we've created a free-for-all.  We have 270 minutes to find the back of the net. We're running out of time, we just need someone to step up and put the ball in the back of the net."

The Leathernecks have one final match at John MacKenzie Alumni Field this season on Saturday, Oct. 26 against IUPUI at 1 p.m. The match will also be the final home match for 13 graduating seniors.

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