Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Radford
Women's Soccer Earns First Win of the Season
9/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 3, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.- Marshall University's Erin Blakely (Westerville,Ohio) tallied her first goal of the season and handed the Herd its first win of the season. MU defeated Radford 1-0 in the opening day of the Best Western Huntington Mall Invitational on Friday night at Sam Hood Field.
The Thundering Herd improves to 1-1-2 on the season, while Radford falls to 2-1. Marshall takes the all-time series lead, 2-1-1.
The match remained scoreless through the first 45 minutes of action. Marshall came out in full force in the second half, outshooting the Highlanders 10-0, while placing six of them on goal.
In the 78th minute a flip-throw by Megan Tabler (Ashland, Ky.) was popped into the air by the Radford goalkeeper Che' Brown, and found Blakely who blasted a shot into the back of the net for her first since the 2008 season.
The Highlanders had a chance to tie the game with just 1:03 left on the clock when MU goalkeeper Lindsey Kerns (Hurricane, W.Va.) got caught out of the net. Radford's Mary Wiley sent a ball straight in front of the net for teammate SharDavia Bell, but Kerns recovered, diving on the ball before Bell could get a shot off.
"Today is a huge step forward for us," MU head coach Kevin Long stated. "We've had a hard time stopping goals this season. Kerns played very well for us today, she came up big with some huge saves off crosses early and then in the end in some breakaways where she cleaned up for us."
Appalachian State vs. Iona
Appalachian State earned a 1-0 victory against Iona in the first game of the tournament, following a forty minute delay prior to kickoff due to inclement weather. The Gaels dropped to 1-5 on the season, while the Mountaineers improve to 2-1.
In the 44th minute Kara Buono sent a cross from the far left side of the field to Michelle Jewell just inside the six yard box, who tipped a pass to Sam Neill. Neill placed her shot past Iona goalkeeper Jacquelyn Gates for her first goal of the season.
The Best Western Huntington Mall Invitational continues on Sunday. Iona will battle Radford in the first game of the afternoon with kickoff set for 12 p.m., followed by Marshall and Appalachian State at 2:30 in their first ever meeting.
