MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's soccer (12-4-0, 4-2-0) earned a Senior Day result on Friday (October 19) notching a 1-0 overtime shutout over the Mavericks of Omaha (3-12-0, 3-2-0). The match marked the only overtime match of the season for the Leathernecks and keeps the squad in the hunt for the Summit League regular season title.
Each squad came out in full attack firing a total of 25 shots in the first half of action. Western keeper Victoria Kappel was hard at work as she recorded five of her seven total saves in the match, one of which involved diving onto the futbol under pressure. The Leatherneck offense attempted a total of 10 shots, requiring Maverick keeper Meaghan Clark to post four saves to keep the match even.
In the second half, Western's back line came through in a situation where Kappel was out of the goal. Defender Amber Davis cut off a breakaway, kicking the futbol out of play before the Mavs could capitalize on the opportunity. Kappel also added another pressurized diving save to halt Omaha's offense.
"I thought that Amber Davis' recovery to prevent that shot on the breakaway was nothing short of heroic because we could be on the receiving end of a 1-0 loss here," head coach Ted Flogaites said. "Just her will to compete was unbelievable. I think that any time you post a shutout you're really proud of what the defenders are doing. They were able to cause us a couple problems through Layla Ashouri and Hannah Wampler, and I thought we did a good job of negating them."
Offensively, the Leathernecks notched 12 shots in the second half seeing several narrowly miss the net high, including one in the final minute of regulation. However, Western could not record the result, sending the match into a sudden death overtime period.
In the third minute, Jennika Myers drove the futbol into the crossbar from 20 yards out and Jordan Walgren headed in the ricochet to send the 2012 senior class out with a victory in their final match at John MacKenzie Alumni Field. It marked Walgren's fourth goal of the season and her second game-winner. Myers picked up her first assist of the year on the play.
Kappel recorded her fifth win in net, accumulated seven saves and earned her third shutout of the season. Sloane Levin paced the Leathernecks in shots with nine, while Katie Condon and Taylor Henning added three apiece.
Flogaites had the following to say about this year's senior class, "I think you say it's going to be a tough group to replace every year, but it really is going to be a tough group to replace. I think my regret is that I only get 90 days with them. They're not just a good group of players, they're quality human beings. I think that is important."
Western Illinois hits the road for it's final weekend of regular season competition, and will face Fort Wayne on Friday (October 26) and Oakland on Sunday (October 28). The matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
