DEERFIELD, Ill. – The No. 2 ranked Spring Arbor University women's soccer team opened the 2017 season Tuesday night with a dominant 3-0 win over Trinity International University.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #2 Spring Arbor 3, Trinity International 0
LOCATION: Schartner Field | Deerfield, Ill.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 1-0-0, Trinity International 1-1-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Spring Arbor got on the board in the 18th minute when Bethany Balcer ripped a shot from outside the 18-yard box that beat the diving TIU goalkeeper.
- The Cougars added to their lead in the 35th minute with a goal from Aubrey Schierbeek. Schierbeek's initial shot was blocked by a TIU defender, but she gathered her rebound and blasted a shot through a wall of Trojans.
- That was how the score stayed until late in the second half. In the 77th minute, Morgan Marshall notched her first goal of the season, taking a pass from Schierbeek and slipping a shot past the netminder into the lower corner of the goal.
- Spring Arbor outshot Trinity International 28-1 while also holding a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Over the last 10 seasons, Spring Arbor is now 5-1 against Trinity International.
- The Cougars have now won three of their last four season openers with the only loss coming in overtime to then-No. 6 ranked Benedictine College in 2015.
- Balcer's goal was the 62nd of her career – just two shy of tying the program's all-time record of 64 held by Karly Linton (2010-13).
FOR TRINITY INTERNATIONAL
- Victoria Padal recorded the only shot of the evening for the Trojans.
- Goalkeeper Becca Wells finished the evening with 15 saves.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JASON CRIST
- "This being our first match, I thought we had some solid moments throughout, but we also saw areas that we need to continue to address and improve on."
- "We created numerous good chances early in the match and did not do a good job finishing on them. I felt like we played well for most of the first half and about half of the second half. We had about a 20 minute stretch where we looked a little ragged but it is still early and we are definitely sorting some things out."
- "Our back four played well and helped us build possession throughout the match. I think Jacquelyn Martin may have been the best player on either team today, as she was wreaking havoc up and down the wing from her right back position."
- "Overall, a solid effort for the first outing and we are looking forward to improving on our start."
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor will host Cincinnati Christian University (0-0-0) in its home opener on Saturday, Aug. 26. The match will start at 5 p.m.
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