GRANVILLE, Ohio (September 21, 2022) – For the first time during the current 2022 season, the Denison University women’s soccer team played on its home grass at Barclay-Thomsen Field, but the change in scenery would not be enough as the Big Red were defeated by a final score of 3-0 against Ohio Northern University on a hot and humid Wednesday evening. It was the first of two matches this week for Denison against teams receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.
The match started with a nice cross by Amy Chiero just under 10 minutes in, which led to an extra pass by Ellie Reiser over to Callie Davis, who just missed high on what would have been a nice shot to put Denison (0-6-1) on the board.
Both teams had six shot attempts in the first 25 minutes of the match, but it was shot number seven from ONU that made the difference after the Polar Bears’ second corner kick of the first half led to a header goal in the 33rd minute to put the road team ahead 1-0.
On the very first possession of the second half, ONU came out aggressive and nearly doubled up its lead as they laced as shot off the crossbar just over the outstretched arms of the new Big Red goalkeeper Molly Noga.
In the 52nd minute, however, ONU’s Kylie Brown got loose on the far side of the field and had only the goalkeeper to beat, which she did to make it 2-0 Polar Bears.
Noga made a good save on a shot by Elizabeth Pierce in the 58th minute before Pierce eventually avoided being offsides to make it 3-0 at the 67-minute mark.
ONU took advantage all match long of its strength in numbers, playing a total of 27 players and using multiple substitutions to keep up the pressure and wear down the Big Red defense.
The Polar Bears outshot the Big Red 9-3 in the second half and 9-2 in overall shots on goal. For Denison, Davis led the way with four shots while Maddie Reap added three.
Next up for Denison will be another tough match against a team receiving votes in the national coaches’ poll as the Big Red head to Trine University for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, September 24, in Angola, Indiana.