OTTAWA, Kan. - Aside from a consolation goal in the 90th minute, little went the way of Ottawa in Saturday's women's soccer match, as the Braves fell 3-1 to McPherson College.
Ottawa put together the first solid chances of the match, as
Kyndel Adams saw a shot blocked in the third minute and
Cennet Donahue was just off target to the right in the fourth minute.
After some hard contact in the box,
Ella Stillings was whistled for a penalty kick, with McPherson's leading scorer Jordyn Smith stepping to the spot. She was able to send
Makena Tapia the wrong direction in the run-up to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 in the eighth minute.
Tapia was able to keep the lead at 1-0 with saves in the ninth, 10th and 11th minute as McPherson and Smith kept up the pressure.
Ottawa was able to force Emily Singletary into her first save of the match in the 27th minute, as
Emma Stillings drove a ball through traffic low and just left of center.
The Braves nearly found an equalizer in the 33rd minute, as
Laura Quijada forced a turnover and dribbled down the left side of the field. Her pass found the feet of
Melissa Grohmann who touched the ball in stride to
Rylee Ringer, whose shot back to the left forced a diving stop by Singletary.
Ella Stillings and
Charlotte Gatehouse each had chances down the stretch for the Braves as well, with Gatehouse's effort in the 39th just parried wide for a corner kick, but not converted by Ottawa.
McPherson nearly doubled its lead right out of the halftime break, forcing an early save from halftime substitute
Lena-Marie Winkler as Smith tested her low and to the right.
The Bulldogs would find a second goal in the 51st minute, as Smith sent a long ball over the top finding Kennedy Halter. Halter settled the ball and struck from 35 yards out, catching up in the swirling winds and sailing just over the outstretched fingertips of Winkler.
Smith put McPherson up 3-0 in the 88th with her second goal of the match.
In the final seconds of the match,
Ellie Fitzpatrick was able to take advantage of the same winds that had aided Halter, as an attempted clearance by the Bulldogs circled back and fell to the feet of Fitzpatrick. After dribbling through a pair of defenders, she drove a shot low to the back post beyond the diving effort from Singletary.
Ottawa is on the road for its next two matches, with a Wednesday 5 p.m. kickoff at Evangel first on the list.
