Rhude's First Career Goal Wins It for Women's Soccer
HOUGHTON, N.Y. – A late-game goal gave the St. John Fisher College women's soccer team their first victory of 2021 as the Cardinals downed Houghton College, 2-1, at Burke Field. Fisher moves to 1-0 on the year and in the Empire 8 Conference, while the Highlanders drop to 0-1 overall and in conference play.
Following two early Houghton shots, the Cardinals added three straight shots of their own.
Carli Kovarik found the back of the Highlander net off of a rebound to put the Cardinals up one, just 11 minutes into play. The goal was Fisher's first of the new season and the 16
th of the 2018 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year's career.
Fisher and Houghton played nearly evenly for the remainder of the first half, as the Cardinals added four more shots and a corner kick while the Highlanders had five more scoring opportunities and two corners.
Coming out of halftime, the squads' defenses commanded the field until a Houghton goal evened the score in the game's 59
th minute of play.
The Highlanders fired off three straight shots following the goal, but the Cardinals' defense stepped up, blocking two of the attempts and another sailing wide of the net.
Fisher's offense kicked on the afterburners, as the Cardinals were awarded two corners and registered two shots before going in for the kill.
With just over one minute to play, the Fisher offense dug deep into the opponent's back line and reversed the ball out to freshman midfielder,
Kayla Rhude, who cracked a shot from the top of the box which cruised over the head of the Highlander keeper for the go-ahead goal. The goal was Rhude's first career and sealed the win in favor of the Cardinals.
Senior
Lila Platt registered just under 89 minutes in goal for the Cardinals, while saving three of the four Highlander shots that were on goal. Platt gets her first win in net on the season, bringing her career record to 3-2.
Fisher shot 14 times on the day, with seven of them landing on goal. Rhude and
Alexis Gossage each shot three times, while
Carli Kovarik had two, and
Jessica Aldred,
Becky Mack,
Christina Van Allen,
Isabella Guarracino, and
Jennifer Kirker had a shot apiece.
The Cardinals have a week to prepare for their next matchup, as they travel to Albany to face the Russell Sage Gators at 12 P.M on Sunday, March 21.
