No. 3 UChicago Shuts Out Hope for Seventh Win of the Year
The third-ranked University of Chicago women's soccer team shut out Hope College in a 2-0 victory. The Maroons scored in each half and delivered a strong defensive performance, bouncing back from their loss this past Wednesday.
UChicago came out firing early, generating three scoring opportunities in the opening minutes as Indira Naylor and Kaitlyn Gomez led the attack. As the Maroons earned a corner kick late in the 20th minute, the early attack paid off. Annabel Edwards floated in a cross off a corner kick, finding the head of Gomez who buried it in the back of the net for the first goal of the game.
The Flying Dutch looked for a response, but UChicago's defense held strong as Amanda Kayari saved a shot by Hope's Barnard. Just a few minutes later, Hope threatened again with back-to-back shots in the 34th and 35th minutes, but failed to find the back of the net. Just before halftime, UChicago had a chance to go up by two when Lucy Harrison-Caldwell and Tahra Minowada took shots in the final two minutes, but the score remained 1-0 at the half.
The Maroons' momentum continued into the opening of the second half, earning five corner kicks in the first six minutes of play. The aggressive offensive attack paid off as UChicago scored again in the 55th minute. Edwards beat her defenders down the left side of the pitch before playing a ball across the box to Gomez. Gomez took one touch before slipping a pass over to Naylor for goal number two, putting the Maroons in full control of the match.
UChicago kept the aggression as Berkeley Hedgspeth and Harrison-Caldwell registered more attacks on the Hope College defense. Down in the 75th minute, Iskra Micovic recorded another attempt and forced Feenstra to save yet another ball from the Maroons.
With the win, the Maroons improve to 7-1 on the year.