MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois women's soccer earned its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season with a 2-0 win over SIUE. The victory marked Head Coach Ross Henderson's first OVC win and goalkeeper Mahee-Lee Caron's first career shutout.
After a scoreless first half, the Leathernecks broke through in the 54th minute when Rita Moran scored off an assist from senior forward Claire Brown. Western Illinois doubled its lead in the 83rd minute as Ashton Conkling finished another Brown assist to secure the 2-0 victory.
Caron and the Leatherneck defense held strong throughout the match to preserve the shutout, while Brown's two assists helped power the Western Illinois attack.
Brown credited the team's energy and confidence for the performance.
"We've been working on this all season, and I think today we just came out with more energy than we have, and we knew that we can compete with any team," Brown said. "When I knew I had the opportunity, I knew I had somebody in there to finish it, so I just had to get the ball there."
Henderson said the victory was a significant step forward after the team spent the season building toward a breakthrough in conference play.
"We've competed throughout the whole of the OVC so far. We've shown now that if we get everything pretty much right, then we can win games," Henderson said. "We just got to take the momentum forward for not just the next game but the rest of the season."
The Leathernecks will look to carry that momentum into Sunday's matchup and Senior Night as they continue their push toward the OVC Tournament.
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