ST. LOUIS – Maryville women's soccer upset the 17
th-ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs on Thursday afternoon behind goals from
Madison Canoy and
Lexi Gentry.
After a relatively slow start to the game, a perfect pass from Elsa Nelson Hurtig found the leg of
Madison Canoy who buried it under the top right crossbar to put the Saints up 1-0 in the 11
th minute.
Katie Nash turned aside a pair of shots a few minutes later, followed by a shot from
Kennedy Reeser that was turned away by the Ferris State goalkeeper. In the 39
th minute, the Bulldogs found themselves with a good scoring chance before a shot missed over the net.
In the 42
nd minute,
Brooke Slater took the final shot of the half with a deep drive that Darya Mosallaei shutdown.
Still clinging to their 1-0 lead to begin the second half,
Lexi Gentry kept the momentum going just 22 seconds in.
Sara Lawler sent a ball up to the junior forward from San Diego, California, and she buried the Saints' second goal to double the lead.
On the verge of being upset, Ferris State found Ferr Pratt in the 49
th minute to cut the lead in half.
A tightly contested match turned aggressive later in the second half as four yellows and a red were handed out in the final 32 minutes of the game. Maryville went down a player in the 80
th minute but continued to apply pressure while Nash was up to the task with a big save in the 85
th minute.
With three minutes remaining, the Bulldogs threatened with a corner kick, but the Saints' defense headed it away to clear the pressure and seal the game with a 2-1 final score.
"It was a really hard-fought match between two quality opponents," said Head Women's Soccer Coach
Lori Chalupny. "It was a hot game, it was a physical game and we just battled. Really pleased with the results and just the mentality of the group that will get us pretty good results in the future."
The win gives the Saints their first ranked victory since a 1-0 final over the 24
th-ranked University of Indianapolis on April 9, 2021.
Records:
Maryville – 1-0-0
Ferris State – 0-1-0
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Next Up:
The Saints are back at home on Saturday, August 27 as they take on the first-ranked Grand Valley University Lakers. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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