NEW CONCORD, OH – Needing two wins in its final two matches, the Wilmington College women's soccer team moved halfway to its goal with a resounding 4-0 victory Tuesday over Muskingum in Ohio Athletic Conference action.
"We told the girls to not thinking about winning, but let's think about playing the game, and everything will take care of itself," said Wilmington head coach Steve Spirk. "Our defense was solid, our midfield had an excellent game and we got goals from our forwards. All three of those things were big.
"You want to be playing well at the end of the season," Spirk added. "It was an all-around team effort."
It was a dominant performance for the Fightin' Quakers as Wilmington unleashed 39 shots, including launching 20 shots on goal, to the Muskies' six shots. Muskingum managed just a single shot on frame.
Wilmington (9-7-1 overall, 3-4-1 OAC) can snap a two-year OAC tournament drought with a win over Heidelberg (8-10 overall, 3-5 OAC) 7 p.m. Saturday. The Student Princes have an outside chance of earning the sixth seed with a win and a John Carroll loss.
"It's business as usual," Spirk said of preparing for the win and in scenario. "We have three days to prepare. We have a great week of practice planned."
The victory served as a youth movement of sorts as freshmen accounted for three of the four goals and two of the four assists. Freshman Stephanie Max (Brookville, OH/Clayton Northmont) scored a goal and had an assist as Wilmington depth was on full display. Seven different players had a hand in Wilmington's scoring.
Freshman Hannah Greaney (Dayton, OH/Carroll) gave Wilmington the early lead with her third goal of the season, following up a rebound shot in the 15th minute. Senior Erika Good (Miamisburg, OH/Miamisburg) and Max were credited with assists on the play.
Freshman Katie Evans (Leesburg, OH/Leesburg-Fairfield) took matters into her own hands with an unassisted goal in the 30th minute. The Wilmington lead ballooned to 3-0 in the 37th minute as sophomore Ashley Lovett (Washington Court House, OH/Washington Senior) took a pass from Taylor Leake (Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek) and flicked it past the goalkeeper.
Max scored the final goal of the contest, scoring in the 58th minute off a pass from junior Taylor Scott (Lynchburg, OH/Lynchburg-Clay).
