Hornets Earn 5-0 Victory on the Road at Franklin College
October 5, 2006
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Hornets Earn 5-0 Victory on the Road at Franklin College October 5, 2006 |
The Kalamazoo College women's soccer team scored an impressive 5-0 victory on the road at Franklin College (IN), in non-conference action on Thursday 10/5. With the win, the Hornets improve to 5-4-1 overall in 2006.
After missing out on a few early scoring chances during the first 20 minutes of play, Kalamazoo finally got on the board in the 23rd minute when junior forward Aliza Caplan ran onto a through-ball played by senior midfielder Lizzy Hauslein. Caplan slotted the ball past Franklin's goalkeeper, earning the eventual game-winner and putting the Hornets up 1-0. Kalamazoo struck again just about 5 minutes later, in the 28th minute. This time, sophomore midfielder Kelly Lepper received a crossed ball from freshman midfielder Anne Baldwin and hit a long, high shot from outside the 18-yard-box to give the Hornets a 2-goal lead heading into halftime.
The second half opened with Kalamazoo finding the back of the net just 7 minutes into the period. Senior forward Amy Draybuck received a great leading pass from freshman midfielder Paige Howell, and then slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to earn her first goal of the 2006 season. Just 40 seconds later, Howell got a goal of her own when sophomore defender Stephanie Jones hit a beautiful free kick into the Franklin 18-yard-box. Caplan received the initial pass, and unselfishly one-touched it to the feet of Howell who was about 10 yards away. Howell hit a powerful shot from about 15 yards out, and beat Franklin's goalkeeper to stretch Kalamazoo's lead to 4 goals. Finally, Lepper rounded out the team's scoring in the 71st minute when Hauslein once again served up a picture-perfect leading pass which earned Lepper a break-away toward goal. Lepper entered the 18-yard-box, calmly hit a low, hard shot to the keeper's left side, and scored when the keeper was unable to stop the ball despite getting her hand on it.
For the game, Kalamazoo outshot Franklin by a 22-12 margin (19-6 shots-on-goal advantage), and forced the Franklin goalkeeper to make 14 saves. Franklin's best scoring opportunity came midway through the second half, just after the Grizzlies had earned 3 consecutive corner kicks that Kalamazoo couldn't effectively clear. Shortly thereafter, with the Hornets still struggling to get possession of the ball and send it back upfield, one of the Grizzlie players hit an early cross from the right side of the field. The ball traveled behind the Hornet defensive line and toward the 6-yard-box on the far side of the goal, where Hornet keeper Kassie Johnston came off of her line to make the save. A Franklin forward collided with her just after she had collected the ball, however, and knocked it loose and into the goal. Much to the dismay of the rowdy Franklin fans, the referee called a foul against the Grizzlie forward for colliding with Johnston after she had already gained possession of the ball. In the end, Kalamazoo maintained its shutout (Johnston's 4th of 2006). Johnston was credited with 5 saves on the day.
The Hornets will play next on Wednesday 10/11 (4:00pm) at Alma College in another MIAA match-up. Kalamazoo enters the game at 5-4-1 overall (1-2-1 MIAA), while Alma enters the game with a 3-7-2 overall record (1-2-2 MIAA).