EC Women’s Soccer Holds Off Defiance, 1-0

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Eureka women's soccer team held off Defiance for a 1-0 road victory on Sunday.

Freshman Jenna Kinney (Washington, Ill./Washington) netted the first goal of the 2022 season in the 52nd minute, and the Red Devils' defense managed to hold off the Yellow Jackets from there to preserve EC's first win of the fall.

Goalkeeper Lizzie Brooksher (Saint Charles, Mo./Saint Charles) tallied five saves, including a game-saver on a 1-v-1 opportunity after the defense was beat in the last five minutes of the match. The home team outshot Eureka 8-4, putting five on frame.

Kinney recorded three of the Red Devils' four shots on the day and all but one was on target. Senior Daniela Gonzales (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods/) had a shot as well.

The goal came to be with a thrown-in on the left side by Sydney Gabbard (Stilesville, Ind./Cascade) that led to a win by Gonzales, who took a couple of quick touches and crossed it into the box. Kinney ran onto it and beat the keeper to the ball. After a ricochet off the keeper's leg, the freshman moved the ball from the left to her right side and poked it into the opposite side netting.

The Yellow Jackets possessed the ball in Eureka's half and had their share of opportunities to equalize, but Brooksher and the Red Devil back line held strong to notch the clean sheet.

After splitting their first contests this weekend, Eureka has time to recover. The Red Devils (1-1) will host Blackburn (1-0) on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at McKinzie Field at 3 p.m. They will be going for their fifth straight win against the Beavers.