ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University women's soccer team came up short on the scoreboard for the first time this season, dropping today's Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest against Hope College by the score of 2-1.
"It was a frustrating afternoon for us. It seemed like everything was almost on. We missed passes we normally make and didn't win balls we normally win," said head coach Gary Boughton, "Credit to Hope for how hard they battled, especially in the midfield."
The Thunder were off in the contest from the opening kickoff, as the Flying Dutch outshot the Thunder 11-1 in the first half. Freshman keeper Sophie Ashemeier (Findlay, Ohio / Liberty-Benton) held strong in net for the team turning aside all five of those shots that made it on goal and thanks to that effort the teams ended the half the same as they started 0-0.
Hope's extra shots finally paid off in the 58th minute of play, when they took a 1-0 lead.
Rather than buckling under the pressure however, the Thunder responded just 42 seconds later, when junior Olivia Butterworth (Murray, Ky. / Murray) found the back of the net herself. Her first goal of the season gave tied the game at 1-1.
The Flying Dutch continued to hold the advantage in the shot category, but the two teams would go scoreless for the next twelve minutes of play.
Hope would break the stalemate again taking back the lead in the 82nd minute. They would then kill out the rest of the clock and send the Thunder home with a 2-1 loss.
"The coaching staff needs to shoulder the blame for this one," continued Boughton, "It's tough to get up to game speed when you've had a week off. I failed to do enough to ease that transition."
The Thunder fall to 11-1-1 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play following the loss. They will look to return to form when they travel to face Adrian College on Tuesday, October 12. That match is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.