SAU sophomore
Braydan Wiles scored in the third minute of play and the Spring Arbor University women's soccer team never looked back, as the Lady Cougars cruised to a 4-0 victory over visiting Grace College on Saturday.
Wiles took a pass from senior Kristin Abbott and navigated a pair of Lancer defenders before slotting home a low, left footed effort past Grace goalkeeper Carmen Barnhill for the game winner.
SAU was quick to put the game out of reach for the visitors from Winona Lake, Indiana, as sophomore Maegan Smith's shot in the sixth minute of play deflected off a Grace defender and beat Barnhill to the near post to make the score 2-0. Freshman Karly Linton picked up an assist on the Smith goal.
Things settled down for a bit, but the Cougars put the game on ice about twelve minutes later when Abbott was the recipient of a strong buildup. Linton found senior Jessica Clarke making a run towards the corner and Clarke cut back on her defender before delivering a perfect service to the back post to a streaking Abbott who nodded the ball past Barnhill to make the game 3-0.
Clarke would finish the Cougar scoring herself as she took a pass from Wiles in the 65th minute and fired a shot from the top of the box that found a way through Barnhill to make the Cougar lead 4-0.
Spring Arbor outshot Grace 24-4 for the day and enjoyed a 7-1 bulge in corner kicks.
"We have a ton of respect for the Grace College soccer team," commented SAU head coach Jason Crist. "They play good soccer are fierce competitors. Make no doubt about it however; our ladies have had this date circled on their calendars since the end of last season and we were ready to play today."
"I can't say enough about the play of our midfield and defenders this season. They have really kept us in games through the early part of the schedule, and now we are starting to get things going on the offensive side of the ball. I am hopeful that we will be playing our best soccer when we need it," finished Crist.
The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Huntington, Indiana to take on the Foresters of Huntington University. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
