The Wayne State women’s soccer team won their season opener for the first time since 2006 Sunday evening with a 3-1 triumph at Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Wayne State opened the scoring early as sophomore Natalie Rech scored at the 8:30 mark with the assist going to Kelsey Engstrom putting the ‘Cats in front 1-0 for the lone goal of the first half.
The Wildcats notched an early goal again in the second period, scoring 4:25 into the half as Carys Hund found the back of the net off a rebound from UCCS goalkeeper Grace Ramsden to give Wayne State a 2-0 advantage.
Wayne State took a 3-0 lead in the 70th minute when sophomore Samantha Phillips scored an unassisted goal for the WIldcats.
The hosts avoided the shutout with just under four minutes remaining as Bailee Jameson scored at the 86:22 mark to close out the scoring as Wayne State finished with a 3-1 victory.
Colorado-Colorado Springs had one more shot than the Wildcats, 15-14, while Wayne STate enjoyed a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 5-3 edge on corner kicks.
For Wayne State, Phillips was credited with a team-high five shots (four on goal) with one goal. Hannah Knight added two shots for the Wildcats. Rech and Hund also scored goals for Wayne State while Engstrom had one assist. Senior goalkeeper Kylie Comba played the entire match in goal for the Wildcats and made two saves while allowing just one goal.
Wayne State, 1-0, will continue their Colorado road trip Tuesday with a 4 p.m. contest at Colorado Christian.
