COLUMBIA, Ky. – The No. 4 Martin Methodist Women's Soccer team delivered another solid result with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over No. 1 Spring Arbor (Mich.) University Saturday night at the Lindsey Wilson Classic.
The first half saw the two teams play to a scoreless stalemate, but the RedHawks (8-0) broke through for two quick second-half goals that broke the match open.
After a Spring Arbor foul gave the RedHawks a chance to regroup, senior forward Katie Reid worked her way into position and delivered the first goal of the contest less than four minutes into the second half.
Less than four minutes later, fellow forward Millene Cabral linked with Riko Sagara and buried a chance that put the RedHawks ahead by a two-goal margin.
The RedHawks would see the shutout through thanks to a strong defensive unit and six saves from goalkeeper Caitlin Dumond. The shutout also marked the first time that Spring Arbor had been held scoreless this season.
The win was the second of the season versus a Top 5 opponent for the RedHawks, who bested then-No. 5 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College in late August. The win also marked a measure of revenge for the RedHawks, who lost 3-0 to the Cougars (7-1) at the Lindsey Wilson Classic last fall.
"I am very proud of a total team effort to beat the No. 1 ranked team in the country," RedHawks head coach Will Austin said. "Spring Arbor are extremely well coached and loaded with talent so we knew it was going to take nothing short of our best effort to get a result. I could not be prouder of our sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Dumond and our freshman center back partnership of Lira Mathes and Ashlyn Wiggins, who showed maturity beyond their years to hold such a dangerous attack scoreless for their fourth clean sheet in a row."
"The discipline of the midfield to maintain their shape and protect their back four was fantastic. The attacking play of our front four of (Sunaga), (Sagara), (Reid) and (Cabral) was a joy to watch all night. We were disappointed to miss so many well created chances but Katie and Millene stepped up huge for us to get the goals for a second day in a row. The whole squad was positive, determined and focused the entire weekend and I can't speak highly enough of all 22 of them. We will enjoy this for a couple of days then get right back to work to fix some things and improve some of our weaknesses."
The victory was the second in as many days for the RedHawks, who bested No. 18 Embry-Riddle (Az.) by another 2-0 margin Friday night.
The script was virtually identical in the two contest as Reid and Cabral also scored both goals and Dumond registered seven saves to pick up the victory.
"We are delighted to get another quality win against a very athletic and talented team ranked No. 18 in the nation," Austin said after Friday's victory. "I was proud of our defensive effort that limited them to no major chances. I was also impressed by our maturity to stay switched on for 90 minutes and get a goal just before and just after the halftime break. I am delighted that we continue to find different ways to score goals and we have built a 7-0 record against some of the best competition in the nation."
The RedHawks return to action on Friday, Sept. 22, when they host University of the Cumberlands (Ky.).
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Grissom Pitch.
