CINCINNATI, Ohio - On Saturday, October 29th your Mount St. Joseph University Lions welcomed the Transylvania Pioneers to Schueler Field to compete in the HCAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Lions entered the tournament holding the #4 seed while Transylvania held the #5 seed. The Lions were dominant from the opening kickoff scoring 3 first half goals while adding and 4th in the second half. Paired with the Lions offensive chemistry, their defense was impressive. Freshman goalkeeper Alyse Harris shutdown the Pioneer attack making 5 saves in the 4-0 shutout.
In the first half the Lions offense got off to a hot start. In just the 7th minute of play, the Lions would get their first chance on the net. The play would begin with a corner kick taken by McKenzie Schneeman. Off the cross the ball was redirected straight up in the air and Defender
Paige Adams would head the ball back towards the far post. Waiting in the box was Senior
Catherine Hatfield. Hatfield got a moving start and sent a powerful header towards the top left corner sneaking past the Transylvania defender and into the net giving the Lions an early 1-0 advantage.
Following the goal, the Lions did not slow down offensively. After a pair of shots from
Zoe Sanford and
Kerigan Pollard the Lions would find the net again in the 14th minute. This time the Lions executed a perfect counter attack goal. The play began with defender
Vivian Willis stepping in front off a pass and then dumping the ball of to
Alexa Simpson. Simpson then quickly sent a pass to McKenzie Schneeman who sent a beautiful through ball to
Kerigan Pollard. Pollard simply outran the Pioneer defender setting up a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Pollard dribbled once and tucked the ball into the bottom left corner giving the Lions a 2-0 lead.
After the goal, The Mount continued to push offensively. Both the Pioneers and the Lions got a pair of shots off before the Lions would again build on their lead. This time it was Junior
Poetrie Bedgood finding the net for the Lions. In the 33rd minute of play the Transylvania defender sent a pass back to their goalkeeper. But, the pass was not powerful enough as Bedgood flew past the Pioneer defender, taking control of the ball and juked the goalkeeper setting up a open net goal giving the Lions a commanding 3-0 lead heading into halftime.
After halftime, the Lions again built on their lead. In the 58th minute
Catherine Hatfield would gain possession inside the box after a failed clearance from Transylvania. Hatfield then sent a pass to
Julia Herzog who immediately sent a cross towards the middle of the box. Waiting in the box was Freshman Layla Youtsler who sent a powerful header towards the crossbar, sneaking just inside the net and over the outstretched glove of the goalkeeper giving the Lions a huge 4-0 advantage.
Following the goal, the Lions relied on their defense to close out the contest. The Pioneers would send 4 shots, 2 on target, towards the net but none could get by Harris. After 90 minutes of play, The Mount claimed victory of Transylvania by a score of 4-0 to advance to the HCAC Semifinal Match.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions move on to the HCAC Semifinal match where they will travel to Hanover, Ind. on Wednesday, November 2nd to take on the #1 seed Hanover Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled to begin at 2pm. Please continue to tune into msjlions.com for coverage of your MSJ Women's Soccer team and all MSJ Athletics.
