MOUNT PLEASANT – Georgetta Lewis (Sr.-St. Johns, Antigua) had two goals and an assist and Iowa Wesleyan College opened Midwest Collegiate Conference play with an impressive 5-2 win over Mount Mercy College Saturday afternoon at East Lake Park.
The Tigers unleashed a blizzard on the Mustangs early, scoring three goals in a 2:20 span in the first 11:42 of the match. IWC held control the rest of the way to win its MCC opener and improve to 6-3-1 overall, while the Mustangs fell to 5-6-1 overall (0-2 in conference).
IWC kept the pressure up throughout, in all outshooting Mount Mercy 23-13 in the match and peppering Mustang goalkeeper Katie Manning with 15 shots on goal. The Tigers outshot MMC 13-6 in the first half alone in taking a 3-1 lead into halftime.
Fanny Koloko-Green (Jr.-Fremont, Calif.) opened the scoring for Wesleyan with an unassisted goal 9:22 into the match. Kelsey Centner (Jr.-Casa Grande, Ariz.) followed with a goal assisted by Lewis less than a minute later, and Lewis added a goal with an assist from Jillian Sulcer (So.-Mechanicsburg, Ill.) at the 11:42 mark to put the Tigers ahead 3-0 in the 12th minute of the match.
Kandice Diernan scored the first goal for Mount Mercy in the 34th minute to make it 3-1, but IWC rebuilt the lead early in the second half. Jacki Isham (So.-Stillman Valley, Ill.) looped in a long shot from 25 yards out just under the crossbar and over Manning in the 58th minute to give the Tigers a three-goal lead again.
Lewis then added her second goal in the 70th minute to increase the lead to 5-1. Diernan added her second goal for the Mustangs in the 78th minute to close out the scoring.
Cara Arnold (So.-Davis Junction, Ill.) made six saves in goal for IWC. With their sixth win of the season, the Tigers are one win from tying the school single-season record of seven wins set in 1999.
Wesleyan will attempt to tie the school record for wins and move to 2-0 in the MCC on Wednesday when it hosts William Penn University. Game time is 2 p.m. at East Lake Park.
For more information regarding the IWC soccer programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
Box score IWC 5 MMC 2
