
Fayette, Mo. – The Central Methodist Women's Soccer team, seeded No. 3 in the Heart of America Conference tournament, edged out a tightly contested match against No. 6 seeded Culver-Stockton College, 1-0, Tuesday evening at Davis Field.
Throughout the first half, the teams were evenly matched, with much of the game being played in the middle of the field during the opening minutes.
The lone goal of the match came in the 31st minute. Central had a corner-kick opportunity, and on a loose ball inside the box, Luisa Schaupp was able to slam it in the back of the net to give the home side an early 1-0 lead.
Neither side had many scoring opportunities during the remaining part of the first half. The Eagles recorded nine shots in the first 45, compared to the Wildcats' four.
In the second half, the Wildcats began controlling the tempo, which caused trouble for the Eagles midfield.
Crucial tackles from the sophomore duo of Nerea Munoz and Delia Lettelier in the backline kept their clean sheet intact. In the 58th minute, goalkeeper Madison Priebe, had arguably her best save of the match, coming out of her line to deny Alayna Chandler Gutierrez a clear scoring opportunity.
The final minutes of the match were primarily controlled by the Eagles, who were aiming for possession to run the clock out.
After 90 minutes, CMU was able to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Wildcats and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The Eagles outshot the Wildcats significantly, 18-7, but some crucial saves from Mackenzie Frizzell kept the visitors within striking distance the entire way. Her counterpart, Madison Priebe, finished her night with four saves and secured her team's 10th clean sheet of the year.
The Eagles will travel to Atchinson, Kansas on Friday, Nov. 8 to face No. 2-seeded Benedictine College at 6:00 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Heart Tournament Championship.
#TakeFlight