By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University women's soccer team pulled away in the second half for a 3-0 home MIAA win over visiting Missouri Southern on Friday night at Yager Stadium.
Washburn junior Belle Kennedy scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in Friday's 3-0 MIAA soccer win over Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will close out their two-game homestand at 1 p.m. on Sunday against Pittsburg State.
Both WU and Southern traded possession and scoring opportunities in the early stages of Friday's game.
The Lions (1-6-4 overall, 0-3-2 MIAA) nearly got on the board first, but Washburn sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Beck made a difficult save in the top left corner of the goal off a shot from Missouri Southern's Presley Whitmire in the 12th minute.
Beck, a Washburn Rural product, made another impressive save in the 30th minute, knocking a long-range attempt from Whitmire over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless.
The first half would end in a 0-0 defensive deadlock, despite the Ichabods (6-2-2, 3-0-1) holding an 11-3 advantage in shot attempts.
Much like last Friday's contest at Nebraska-Kearney, the Washburn offense came alive in the second half.
In the 58th minute, a pass from Khloe Schuckman split the Lion defense and found an open Belle Kennedy, who found the back of the net for the second game in a row.
The Ichabods would strike again in the 71st minute when Ana Muruzabal scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season off a Lindsey Maul cross.
Muruzabal nearly added a second goal less than a minute later, but her close-range attempt hit the left side of the net.
Washburn wasn't done scoring, with Cloe Quintana finishing off a cross from Katie Kamies in the 81st minute to give Quintana her second goal of the season and the Ichabods a 3-0 lead that they would take to the final buzzer.
The Ichabods dominated in offensive production, taking 24 total shots, with 10 coming on goal.
Rural product Kennedy and Muruzabal shared the team lead in shots taken with seven each.
Beck made three saves in goal as Washburn posted its eighth consecutive clean sheet and extended its school-record defensive scoreless streak to 748 minutes and 44 seconds.
Missouri Southern took three shots in the contest, all of them on goal. Whitmire led the team with two shots on goal.
Bella Smith recorded seven saves in net for the Lions.
