76th-Minute Goal Propels USF Past Goshen Women
Maple Leafs leave Summit City seeking first league win
By Chandler Ingle
Sports Information Intern
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Goshen College and the University of St. Francis tallied a combined seven shot attempts in a Crossroads League women’s soccer defensive struggle Saturday night, with USF posting a 1-0 victory at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium in Fort Wayne.
The aggressive-minded Cougars (7-5, 1-2) totaled 10 team fouls to Goshen’s four but forced the action on the offensive side late in the second half: Hannah Elzinga took a lead pass from Hannah Erhardt to break through with the goal in the 76th minute.
Londyn Feasel and Kayla Shaw were the only two Maple Leafs to register a scoring opportunity throughout the 90-minute affair. Both shots did not come until the final ten minutes of play. Each looked to make action interesting as both attempts were on target but were saved by Sarah Lewis, who leads the conference with 71 saves as a freshman.
“Soccer has a strange way of evening out,” said Goshen coach Scott Gloden. “Our game against Bethel on Wednesday should have been something like 6-5 and had two goals. Tonight deserved to be a 0-0 game and someone scored.”
Elzinga led all players with five shot attempts. She was the only Cougar to challenge Goshen goalkeeper Katie Baer on the evening, putting four shots on target. The goal was Elzinga’s first of the season.
“We did a good job staying disciplined with our defensive shape,” Gloden said. “We moved some players into different positions that served the team better and had a great attitude as far as putting our bodies in front of the ball to not let the other team score.”
Goshen (3-7-1, 0-3) conceded all four corner kicks.
The win moves USF one game clear of Goshen at the bottom of the conference standings and pushes the Cougars into a four-way tie for sixth. Spring Arbor and Marian are the only undefeated, untied teams remaining in the 10-team league.
The Goshen women will look to end their scoreless woes as they square off with no. 17 ranked Marian University this coming Wednesday. Kickoff is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.