CHICAGO, Ill. – It took
Amanda Skidmore 2:33 to break the ice,
Shameeka Fishley scored the eventual match winner and later added a second in the second half,
Katie Suwyn and
Leah Hardy each found the back of the net to complete the No. 7 Davenport women's soccer team's 5-1 win over Saint Xavier Tuesday evening.
Â
With two matches remaining in the non-conference slate, Davenport will put its 6-0-0 record on the line against two NAIA Top 10 teams in Columbia, Ky., this weekend. The Panthers face No. 8 Cumberland (Tenn.) Friday at 6 p.m. EDT followed by host No. 3 Lindsey Wilson the next day at 8 p.m.
Â
The Panthers jumped on the board in the third minute when
Natalie McHale connected to Skidmore who fired a shot from 10 yards out on the right side. The winning goal arrived at 26:01.
Paige Eli, making her first appearance since the Florida trip a little over three weeks ago, found Fishley in the goal box on the right side who made the unanswered shot.
Â
Although a Cougar (0-3-2) penalty kick in the 32
nd minute ended the Panthers shutout run at 304 minutes,
Michelle Marcus needed only to make two saves between the posts before
Tara Gessler took over in the 49
th minute. The junior also had a pair of saves and held the Cougars offense in check.
Â
Davenport added more breathing room before intermission when Katie Suywn beat Saint Xavier keeper Alex Perry in a semi-breakaway 35 yards out in the 44
th minute. The Panthers added on to the lead in the 58
th minute.
Tam Grzybowski's shot was deflected by Perry but Fishley was able to knock in the rebound for her second goal of the night.
Â
Hardy knocked on the door several times throughout the match but came through in the 67
th minute with a 25-yard shot.
Â
Davenport dominated the shot attempts 23-10 with Perry needing to make 13 saves on the night. DU did have a 6-4 edge in corner kick opportunities.
Â
Post-Match NotesNatalie McHale's six-match scoring streak came to an end Tuesday night, meaning that she will be sharing the school record with former teammate and now assistant coach
Lizzie Paul…Davenport wins in the inaugural meeting with Saint Xavier
Â
Women's Soccer Contact:
Rick Hoskin | 616-871-6180 |
rhoskin@davenport.eduDU Athletics: Twitter |
Facebook |
YouTube |
InstagramWomen's Soccer: Facebook |
Twitter