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Kate Hinck, freshman forward, holds her position near the goal. Hinck recorded seven shots, with three shots on goal.
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Leah Henke, freshman forward, rushes past her opponent on their side of the field. Henke recorded two on-goal shots alongside her one goal and one assist.
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Rilyn Snyder, junior defender, prepares for a long-range kick towards the Lopers’ side of the field. Snyder remained on the field for 74 minutes.
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The Ichabods celebrated as a team after the second goal of the game. The strong lead set the stage for the rest of the first half.
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During halftime, the head coach and players huddled to plan their tactics for the second half. One thing discussed was the opponent having a different approach for the second half.
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Aubrey Tanksley, senior forward, checks her opponent, while another opponent behind her awaits the chance to make a play. Tanksley recorded one shot on the goal and one assist.
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The Ichabods adapt to the new strategy, leaving openings on the opponent’s side. Kylie Hinrichs, junior forward, took the chance to get the ball back and keep the Lopers on the defensive.
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Bricelyn Betts, freshman midfielder, kicks from the corner to her team. Betts recorded one shot in the game.
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Brooke Powell, senior defender, kicks the ball back in the field just before it goes out of bounds. Powell substituted for Rilyn Snyder late in the second half.
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The head coach and players huddle to discuss the win and look ahead. Washburn had 22 shots total with eight on goal, beating UNK who had seven shots with three on goal.
Women’s Soccer earned a 3-0 victory in the home opener in the MIAA Tournament on Oct. 3, defeating the University of Nebraska Kearney at Yager Stadium.
From beginning to end, the Ichabods kept the Lopers on the defensive, pressuring and separating the Lopers’ defensive line, giving the Ichabods early momentum that escalated throughout the game.
The first six minutes of the first half had the Ichabods take 5 shots, until Kate Hinck, freshman forward, scored the first goal at the 8-minute mark, assisted by Leah Henke, freshman forward, putting the Ichabods at an early lead. The Ichabods’ pressure continued until senior defender, Shaye Taylor, scored the second goal at the 34-minute mark, assisted by freshman midfielder, Lydia Keller. At the end of the first half, Washburn took 14 shots total and forced 3 saves from the UNK goalkeeper. Taylor scored her second goal of the season.
The momentum continued in the second half with Henke scoring the third goal at the 34-minute mark, assisted by Aubrey Tanksley, senior forward. Henke scored her fifth goal of her freshman campaign.
Head Coach Davy Phillips, highlighted key takeaways from the game, highlighting growth, newcomers and the team becoming more comfortable with each other.
“The [team] continued growth from weekend to weekend,” Phillips said. “This is [..] our best weekend or best performance so far and they just seem to get more comfortable with each other. We have so many newcomers to the program. This is kind of an organic process, but they’re starting to really understand what I’m asking of them and feel more confident about putting it into practice.”
Henke pointed out the team’s implementation of their practiced strategies, and shared Phillips’ view that it was the best game of the season. Overall, Henke had high satisfaction with the game’s outcome and rated the team’s performance “a 10 out of 10.”
Junior defender, Rilyn Snyder, pointed out how much she enjoyed the game.
“I enjoyed the atmosphere that we had, the energy that we had as a team going into it,” Snyder said. “Just excited to put in hard work and show what we’ve been working on for the past couple months to another team.”
Snyder later pointed out Phillips’ strategy of drawing out the defending Lopers and separating their defensive line.
Phillips mentioned how the Ichabods adapted to the Lopers’ strategy change after halftime.
“… I thought they did. They made some changes,” Phillips said. “You know, credit to our girls is, after they made changes, we were able to adapt and then find rhythm and temp in the game again, and then again [with] the third goal.”
Washburn hits the road for the next game against Missouri Southern on Friday, Oct. 10. Kickoff will begin at 6 p.m. in Joplin, Mo. For more details about the Ichabods vs Lopers, please visit the official Washburn Athletics website.
Edited by Anson Appelhanz and Anushma Dahal
