SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Senior Bethany Balcer became the first player in Spring Arbor University women's soccer history to reach 100 career goals as the No. 1 ranked Cougars defeated Trinity International 4-0 in their season opener Tuesday.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Spring Arbor 4, Trinity International 0
LOCATION: Cougar Soccer Complex | Spring Arbor, Mich.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 1-0-0, Trinity International 0-1-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Balcer scored two goals in the first 17 minutes to put Spring Arbor in control. In the seventh minute, a cross in from freshman Madison Dudley found Balcer at the top of the 18-yard box and the senior midfielder ripped a shot into the upper corner. Ten minutes later, Balcer and Morgan Marshall played a nice give-and-go to set up Balcer's second goal – the 100th of her career.
- Freshman Lexi Ponstein recorded her first collegiate goal in the 25th minute and Kaley Buck capped the scoring with a strike just before halftime.
- Senior goalkeeper Allison Keizer made two saves in the shutout victory.
- Spring Arbor outshot Trinity International 28-6 and held a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Spring Arbor posted its third straight opening day victory. The Cougars also defeated Trinity International in their season opener last year, defeating the Trojans 3-0 in Deerfield, Illinois.
- SAU is 6-1-0 against Trinity International in their previous seven meetings.
- With her 100th goal, Balcer now sits just outside the top-10 in the NAIA record books for career tallies.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JASON CRIST
- "I thought we played a very solid first half. We started the match well, which was the goal that we set in the locker room."
- "We were able to play a lot of different players in several roles throughout the match and learned some valuable things for our team moving forward."
- "I'm very happy with the play of our young players, and I thought that our upperclassman did a nice job leading tonight."
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor will travel to Pittsburgh to take on Point Park University at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 25 before visiting No. 3 University of Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday, Aug. 29.
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