CHICAGO, Ill. — On a scorching hot Tuesday night at Deaton Field on the campus of Saint Xavier University (1-0-0), the Bethel Pilots (1-1-0) fell 2-1 after an active second half by SXU.
Annalise Jung scored her first goal of the season in the 24th minute after Aubrey Vervynckt intercepted a Cougar pass at about the 23-yard line and connected with Thalyta Martins at the 13-yard line where she dished the ball to Jung to score cross-net.
The Cougars hit the equalizer after a corner was knocked outside of the box for Hope Lewis to knock it in from the 19-yard line in the 58th minute, then took the lead with a 10-yard shot by Veronica Davila in the 80th minute that slipped through.
With about 5:38 to go in regulation, lightning eventually called the game in the 85th minute to seal the first loss of the season for the Pilots. Bethel put up 12 shots with three of them on frame, versus SXU’s 10 shots with six on frame.
“Hard-fought contest between two good teams tonight. Not the result we were looking for, and the weather cut us a little short,” said head coach of the Pilots Jason Freeman, “We had our chances and needed to put some away earlier. The little things will make a difference over time, but I am proud of our growth from game one to game two, and it will be exciting to watch our young group grow quickly in the coming weeks.”
Bethel is now 1-3-3 against the Cougars all-time after tying for two straight seasons and the last time the Pilots lost to SXU was on Sept. 12, 2015, at Deaton Field.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots start their home slate with the Oakland City Mighty Oaks at Morey Field with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. in an NCCAA showdown. Check out bupilots.com for how you can follow the game or see the Pilots in action on campus.