MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College had many more opportunities but it was William Penn University taking better advantage of its few chances as the Tiger women’s soccer team lost 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in a Midwest Collegiate Conference match at East Lake Park.
IWC outshot the Lady Statesmen 16-4, including a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal, but Penn scored on two of those three shots to drop the Tigers to 1-1 in the MCC and 6-4-1 overall. WPU also prevented Wesleyan from tying the school record for wins in a season and improved to 4-4-1 this year, 1-1-1 in conference.
The Tigers never led in the contest, falling behind late in the first half when Penn’s Katie Johnson looped in a shot over goalkeeper Cara Arnold (So.-Stillman Valley, Ill.). IWC outshot the Lady Statesmen 7-3 in the first half but still trailed at the break.
Wesleyan came out strong in the second half and got the tying goal just 3:30 in when Fanny Koloko-Green (Jr.-Fremont, Calif.) scored her ninth goal of the season, heading in a free kick by Taylor Scott (So.-Rockton, Ill.) to make it 1-1. William Penn came back in the 61st minute, though, scoring on its only shot on goal in the half when Brittany Hajicek scored with an assist from Sophie Duke to make it 2-1.
IWC applied constant pressure the final 20 minutes of the match, controlling play and posting a 9-1 advantage in shots in the second half. The Tigers also had nine corner kicks in the half but never were able to convert on their many opportunities. WPU goalkeeper Kristen Dolen finished with nine saves and the Lady Statesmen held off Wesleyan’s repeated pushes to defeat the Tigers for the first time since 2005.
Koloko-Green had four shots on goal to lead the Tigers, while Eleni Nikols (So.-Elmwood Park, Ill.) had two shots on goal. Arnold made one save in goal for IWC, which was attempting to tie the school single-season record of seven wins in a season set in 1999.
The Tigers return to play Saturday when they travel to Forest City to face Waldorf College at 2 p.m.
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 WPU 2 IWC 1
