GREENVILLE, PA- Two second-half goals propelled the Juniata women's soccer team as it defeated Thiel College 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The win evens the Eagles' record at 1-1 while Tomcats fall to 0-1.
The Eagles dominated the contest in shots with a 17-5 advantage on the day. Despite the large advantage, the game was scoreless in the first half play.
The contest was barely a minute old in the second half when Juniata got on the scoreboard. Michaela Lacek (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern) passed to Emily Green (Marietta, PA/Donegal) who deposited the ball past Thiel goalie Kim Gentry. The Eagles pounded the Tomcats in the frame with an 11-2 advantage in shots.
The score stood at 1-0 until the 74th minute. Olivia Claycomb (Saxton, PA/Tussey Mountain) got a shot off that Gentry turned away but Claycomb recovered the rebound and put it away to put Juniata ahead 2-0 and the Eagles cruised the rest of the way.
"It was a good win over an improved Thiel squad," said head coach Scott McKenzie. "We made a few adjustments at halftime and we were able to get behind their defense."
Claycomb, Lacek, and Devin Kos (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) all had three shots in the contest with both Claycomb and Lacek getting all three on goal. Green, Taylor Garraffa (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter Strasburg), and Shayna King (Easton, PA/Easton Area) had two shots apiece.
Erin Mueller (Bedford, PA/Bedford) got the start in goal for the Eagles and had one save in the first half. Shannon Kriz (Breinigsville, PA/Parkland) came on in the second stanza and also had one save.
Mary Oakey started for the Tomcats between the pipes and tallied four saves. Gentry had eight saves.
Juniata continues its road trip on Thursday with a non-conference game against McDaniel. Game time will be at 4 p.m.
