McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College women's soccer team struggled to get into a rhythm Wednesday night, falling to No. 14 Ottawa University, 6-1, in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) match at McPherson Stadium.
The Braves (9-2-1, 4-1 KCAC), who were led by a hat trick from Caroline Jenkins, held a commanding 22-4 advantage in shots overall, including an 11-2 edge in shots on goal.
Jaelynn Chargualauf gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute. Jenkins tallied her first off an assist from Ady Barraza in the 16th minute.
McPherson (5-5, 2-3 KCAC) halved the lead a little over a minute later as
Lacy Fry (Severance, Colo., Windsor HS) scored on a corner kick off an assist from
Brooke Russell (Hays, Kan., Barton County CC).
Barraza added a goal in the 31st minute to give Ottawa a 3-1 lead at the break.
Jenkins notched her second goal directly off a corner kick in the 50th minute. Kicking from the northwest corner of the stadium, Jenkins' corner attempt sailed directly into the path of the setting sun and the ball ricocheted off McPherson goalkeeper
Christie Silber (Simi Valley, Calif., Simi Valley HS) and into the corner of the goal. She completed the hat trick with an unassisted goal in the 59th minute.
Abigail Rosales capped the scoring in the 77th minute with a goal off an assist from Deanna Passerella.
Ottawa also had a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. OU starting goalkeeper Kodie Johnson was credited with one save before leaving the game after Rosales' goal. Jenkins finished with six shots, while Chargaulauf and Sydney Alexander had three apiece.
Dina Der Vartanian (Sierra Madre, Calif., Alverno HS) had two of McPherson's shots, including a shot on goal. The other shots came from Fry and
Ashley Taylor (Eastvale, Calif., Chino Hills HS / Slammers FC), who had a very good chance at a goal miss just wide. Silber was credited with five saves in goal.
"I give Ottawa a lot of credit tonight as they capitalized on their opportunities and showed why they are national ranked and always toward the top of the conference," said head coach
Mark Olson. "After going down two goals, I thought we responded well by capitalizing on a corner kick as Lacy Fry scored her first goal of the year, which was great to see. After the game we talked about each player taking situations from their own play and turning them into learning opportunities. I talked about taking these learning opportunities to help benefit them in future games so that as players and a team we continue to grow and head in a positive direction."
The Bulldogs trade one ranked opponent for another this Saturday as a matchup with No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan University looms on the horizon. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. from the OKWU Soccer Field.
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