Washburn women’s soccer defeated Northwest Missouri State University 2-0 Friday night at Yager Stadium.
The first half was a defensive struggle with the score remaining tied at 0. The best chance for either side came in the 42nd minute when a shot from Washburn’s Hunter McWilliams, junior midfielder, was deflected and fell to her teammate Ana Muruzabal, senior midfielder whose close-range shot was saved. The Ichabods took seven shots in the first half while holding the Bearcats to three attempts.
Belle Kennedy, junior midfielder, shared her satisfaction with the game, past struggles with rival teams and future improvements on her techniques.
“Honestly, I feel like it went really well. Previous years we’ve struggled more and this year we completely dominated the game,” Kennedy said. “I think we will be working with our forwards which may help us to do better in upcoming games.”
Washburn took no time getting on the board in the second half, with Khloe Schuckman, senior forward, getting the first score of the night for the Ichabods off a pass from Mackinly Rohn, sophomore forward. The Washburn defense held strong, keeping the Bearcats away from scoring opportunities with zero shots recorded in the second half. In the 83rd minute, Schuckman put the contest away for good, receiving a long pass from Grace Peterson, sophomore midfielder, and getting a shot past the Bearcat goalkeeper.
Schuckman expressed her pride in the goals, attributing their success to team efforts and talked about the team’s ability to win.
“The game was good. Honestly, I feel really confident that we’re gonna win the game from the start, and obviously our actions followed. I scored goals and I couldn’t do that without my teammates,” Schuckman said.
Washburn took 16 shots in the competition, with six coming on goal with Schuckman leading the Ichabods with four attempts. Alli Harrington, senior goalkeeper, earned the shutout, playing all 90 minutes.
Viviana Soto-Herrera, senior midfielder, shared her game expectations and moments of the game. She expressed her satisfaction with the game and the team’s support.
“I think we all played pretty well, gave our best and we just showed up. The second half was the best, with the second goal that crossed and then Khloe finishing which was really a good ball,” Soto-Herrera said.
Presslee Amick, sophomore midfielder, discussed her experience playing a game as a team, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and communication.
“We always work hard together as a team, I thought we played really well today supporting each other and each player fulfilling their role was key to victory,” Amick said.
Washburn also played Missouri Western State University the following day. The Ichabods were able to come away with another win, giving them a 12-3-2 record on the season.
Edited by Morgan Albrecht and Jeremy Ford
