ANGOLA, Ind. – Another record fell for sophomore Teresa Ashbrook as she scored the lone goal of the contest to give the Trine University women's soccer team the 1-0 victory over visiting Kalamazoo College.
"It was a big win today, that should really help to boost our confidence," said Trine's sophomore keeper Sophie Aschemeier, "Now we just need to take this energy and let it fuel us on Saturday."
Aschemeier was crucial to the early success of the team coming up with a pair of important stops for the Thunder. In just the eighth minute of play, the Hornets would drive toward the net and fire a sharp shot to the middle center of the net. Aschemeier made a spectacular diving save. She added another a few minutes later.
Then in the 14th minute of the half senior Veronica Ocampo threaded a beautiful pass through the defense into the center of the 18-yard box where Ashbrook quickly turned it into a shot and goal. The goal was the 54th point of her career at Trine, making her the program's Division III leader.
The team threatened another goal in the 36th minute. The team put the ball into the penalty area off of a free kick attempt near midfield. Sophomore Bella Mabry received the ball and moved to the left side of the net firing a shot that rebounded solidly off the left post.
It was the last offensive opportunity of the half and the team would take their 1-0 lead into the intermission.
At the halfway point of the second period, Mabry had another prime chance at a goal. Junior Rachel Hill forced a bad pass from the Kalamazoo keeper leaving the ball free inside of the 18-yard line. Mabry collected and fired a shot at the left side of the net, finding the post for a second time.
Despite not adding to their lead, the team played lockdown defense throughout the second half. The Hornets never threatened and Trine finished with the 1-0 victory.
"Kalamazoo is always well organized and prepared. Today was no different," said head coach Gary Boughton, "They made things difficult for us in the midfield, but we were eventually able to solve a few things and create good scoring opportunities. Now we just need to finish them."
The team improves to 8-3-2 overall and 3-0-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play. They will travel to face Calvin University for their next contest, a crucial match in the league standings, with the two team's both sitting undefeated in MIAA play. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.