ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University women's soccer team (0-2-3) earned its third consecutive draw Saturday afternoon, playing UC Merced to a 1-1 result at Steve Hertling Field at Tomlinson Stadium.
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH JOHN HAWKS:
"Proud of the overall effort to compete and protect the house with two ties against two quality opponents in Denver Metro and Merced!
In order for those to become wins we must become more proficient with our technical execution offensively.
We'll take the lessons from this week and get back to work as we shift our focus towards Seattle U…Go Cats!"
FIRST HALF:
The Wildcats weathered early pressure from the Bobcats, who outshot CWU 7-3 in the opening 45 minutes, while goalkeeper
Leighton Menge made three saves to keep the match scoreless. After generating a pair of shots on goal, the Crimson and Black broke through in the 44th minute when
Shannah Mellick scored her first goal of the season off an assist from
Kylee Schreck, giving Central a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
SECOND HALF:
UC Merced found the equalizer just over six minutes into the second half as Alexia Alva scored in the 52nd minute to level the match at 1-1. The 'Cats continued to battle in a physical final 45 minutes that featured 17 combined fouls, and several corner-kick opportunities for both teams. A red card was issued to UC Merced's Head Coach Roman DuChateau for unsportsmanlike conduct at the 71st minute, while CWU's
Alexa Stanfield (70th) and UC Merced's Sophia Ruys (75th) were assessed a yellow card each. Despite late pressure from the Bobcats, Central held firm defensively to secure the draw.
SERIES HISTORY:
- UC Merced now leads the all-time series 1-0-1.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats head to Seattle next weekend for a nonconference matchup against Seattle U on Sunday, Sept. 13. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and is scheduled to start 4:00 p.m. from Championship Field.
