Late First Half Goal Defeats Western

The Leathernecks now turn their attention to the season opener on Friday (Aug. 22).

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's soccer dropped its final preseason match 2-1 to SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday (Aug. 16).

"Overall it was a very good team performance and much better than we played on Tuesday," said head coach Ted Flogaites. "We have some issues but our young players are rising to the challenge much quicker than we thought. The shame is when you dominate a game and see that much of the ball only to get punished for two times of inattention, but that's football at this level."

The Fighting Leathernecks fell behind early in the second minute when an Edwardsville forward won the ball at the top of the box and finished her left-footed shot far-post past a diving Victoria Kappel. Western Illinois fought back, leveling the match in the 17th minute.

Great combination play in the midfield allowed Skyler Jessop and Sarah Hall to combine as the Leathernecks pushed forward. Hall then found an open Sarah Wright, who curled a right-footed shot into the back of the net.

"We're still a little sloppy in the back and we start slowly and one mistake kills us," Flogaites said. "We have to play in a dominant fashion the way we do most of the time from the start of the game."

Western continued to press forward, controlling possession but were caught late in the first half on a through ball from the midfield, allowing a Cougar to finish a one-on-one opportunity against Kappel.

The Leathernecks nearly equalized in the 79th minute when Hall found Andrea Ferguson in the box, but the SIU-Edwardsville goalkeeper stopped Ferguson's effort.

"We need to better in the final third," Flogaites said. "Sarah Wright and Amy Bennett were fantastic today but it has to be a comprehensive performance and we can't rely on just a core group of players. There are no more dress rehearsals; Friday is the real deal whether we're ready or we're not."

Western Illinois now focuses on the the 2014 regular season opener at Kent State on Friday (Aug. 22). The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Tweet #W1U

Print Friendly Version