Carlinville, Ill. – The Mount Mary University soccer team lost today at the Blackburn Stadium to the host Beavers by a score of 2-1. Blackburn College (2-5) took a two goal lead in the first half to the end, while the Blue Angels (2-4-1) responded with just one in the second half as they drop the first in their two-game road trip through Illinois.
The contest's first goal came 90 seconds after kickoff. Blackburn's Maya March found an opening in the Blue Angels territory and found the back of the net for the quick 1-0 lead. Mount Mary quickly came to attention, and got in the way of the next 11 shots, including six saves and five team blocks.
With only 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Beavers found another opening in MMU's territory. Christin Miller was able to knock in the shot for Blackburn and give the Beavers a 2-0 lead going into the locker rooms at halftime.
In the first 45 minutes, the Beavers took 19 shots to the Blue Angels four. Following halftime, the Blue Angels came out to flip the table on their opponent.
MMU was able to find the net within the first 3 minutes of the second half. Allison Klotz (So./Port Washington, Wis.) found a play on the ball in BC's box and blasted a shot to make things 2-1.
Although Blackburn was able to outshoot the Blue Angels 15-7 in the second half, MMU was able to resist each and every Beaver attack. Hannah Rose (So./Jeromesville, Ohio) got in between eight of those shots in the second half to hold the opposition to the second half shutout.
"Tough result today. The conditions were difficult for both teams," said Mount Mary Head Soccer Coach Jon Gulrajani. "Give credit to Blackburn they came out strong and finished a few chance beating a few players in the box. We needed a little more discipline with individual defending."
"I thought we regrouped at halftime and really did well the second half. We found a goal and then pushed for the equalizer. We created enough chances today, but we just needed to be a little sharper in the final third."
The Blue Angels will spring back into action tomorrow at 1:00 pm. MMU will take on MacMurray College (1-4) in Jacksonville, Ill. for the Saturday afternoon showdown. Box scores and news for the Blue Angels can be found at mtmaryathletics.com.
