TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Washburn Ichabod women's soccer team earned its fifth conference victory in a row with a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Northeastern State RiverHawks on Friday night. The Ichabods will make the short trip to Claremore, Okla. to take on Rogers State on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Northeastern State (8-4-0, 2-4-0 MIAA) had an early opportunity to score after earning a corner kick in the first 15 seconds of the match, but the Washburn (8-2-2, 5-0-1 MIAA) defense was able to clear the ball away from their own goal. The RiverHawks put pressure on the Ichabod defense again a few minutes later, when Jaclyn Barritt's shot hit off the left post.
After the early scares, Washburn took control of the contest in the eighth minute with a goal from Viviana Soto-Herrera, her second goal in as many games. After a cross put the ball in the RiverHawks' six-yard box, Soto-Herrera found the ball at her feet and converted the short-range attempt to put the Ichabods up 1-0, a lead that would hold for the remainder of the match.
The Ichabods almost extended their lead in the 31st minute, when Lindsey Maul drove into the box and passed the ball to Ana Muruzabal, but the senior's initial shot was blocked. After two more shot attempts from Washburn, the whistle was blown to indicate a foul, putting an end to the Ichabod chance.
In the second half, the Ichabods put constant pressure on the RiverHawk defense and goalkeeper Rebecca Partyka. Washburn took 14 shots in the period, with 10 being on goal. The Ichabod defense held Northeastern State to one shot attempt in the period. Despite the significant advantage in output for the Ichabods, the period remained scoreless. In the closing seconds of the match, the RiverHawks found one more opportunity to escape with a draw, but the Ichabod defense held firm to preserve the victory.
With the win, Washburn extends its clean sheet streak to 10 matches, and increases its school-record consecutive scoreless minutes streak to 928 minutes and 44 seconds. The Ichabods took a total of 22 shots in the contest, with Soto-Herrera and Muruzabal recording four attempts each. Hailey Beck posted her ninth solo clean sheet of the season, making three saves in net.
Northeastern State took eight shots in the game, with three being on target. Sydney Taylor took three shots to lead the RiverHawks, while Partyka made 12 saves in goal.
