It was a dominating performance for the Wilmington College women’s soccer team Wednesday as the Fightin’ Quakers knocked off Earlham, 5-0, at a rainy Townsend Field.
Wilmington didn’t yield a single shot on goal and allowed just one shot in the game. WC finished with 35 shots total, 18 in the first half and 17 in the second. Twenty-four of Wilmington’s 35 shots were on goal.
“The girls are playing hard; they realize they can score goals, and play good soccer,” said Wilmington head coach Steve Spirk. “Again, I thought we played well in the first three games that we lost, but we just weren’t putting the ball in the net. We are finding the net right now. We scored some really nice goals tonight, so hopefully that bodes well for the future.”
Sophomore Alex Vestal got the home team on the board early with a goal in the 10th minute, then added her third goal of the season with a marker in the 25th minute. Senior Ashley Lovett added a goal in the 68th minute.
For the second straight game, junior Hannah Greaney scored a pair of goals. She found the back of the net off a free kick in the 69th minute and unassisted goal in the 71st minute.
“We work on set pieces, corners and free kicks,” said Spirk. “We have to find a lot of different ways to score goals, and free kicks are one of them.”
Senior Haley Brausch recorded her first two assists of the season.
Senior Ana Hosler earned the win goal without facing a single shot.
The green and white had an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks and had all seven fouls in the game.
The win gives Wilmington a 2-0 lead in the annual Quaker Bowl Series.
Wilmington has now beaten Earlham in five straight meetings.
“Our game plan was to apply a lot of pressure and see how they handled it,” Spirk added. “At times they got through us, but for the most part, I thought we played well. The ball skips a little in games like this, but the girls did a great job with the game plan.”
Wilmington (2-3) remains home to host Anderson 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
