PORTSMOUTH – Women's soccer used five unanswered goals from five different players to rally from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday afternoon. Playing in front of a large crowd on Alumni Weekend, the Bears (2-3) found themselves down a pair of goals to Bluffton (1-2) after just over 24 minutes of play. However, a penalty kick goal from Brittney Brooks in the 35th minute gave the team a huge momentum boost heading into the break.
In the second half, Shawnee State scored early and often, using goals from Staci Johnson, Allison Nagle, Jessica Fair and Hannah Figlestahler to run away with the game. Brooks added the assist on the second and third goals, giving her a hand in all three of the goals that got the Bears out of the early deficit. Alisha Fournier and Elizabeth Abbott would assist on the fourth and fifth goals, respectively.
"Today was a big win for us in front of many former players that are here for Alumni Weekend. We had a different girl step up and finish on each goal, so that was very encouraging to see," said head coach Rob Appell. "We just have to use the momentum from today's game, build on that and carry it into conference play next weekend."
Bluffton's scoring in the first half would come solely off the foot of Laura Fish. In the ninth minute, she broke onto the scoreboard with a direct kick goal to give her team the early lead. In the 25th minute, the Bears would get called for a tackle in the box. Fish then converted the penalty kick, giving the Beavers a 2-0 lead.
Things started to swing in the favor in the favor of Shawnee State when Johnson carried the ball into the box. She tried to fight through the defense and although she did not get a shot off on the play, she drew the call in the box that would allow Brooks to convert her penalty kick and cut the deficit to one heading into halftime.
Just over a minute and a half into the second half, it was a role reversal of sorts as Brooks fed Johnson to start the breakaway and Johnson finished for her second goal of the season. In the 52nd minute and just over five minutes after netting the tying goal, Brooks found Nagle and put a flick up ahead that Nagle finished on the break for her first of the season. That gave the Bears a 3-2 lead and they would not look back.
Fair would add an insurance goal to pad her team's lead in the 77th minute. Off a feed from Fournier, Shawnee State's freshman would tally her second goal of the season, while the assist was the first of the year for the Bears' senior captain.
The Bears' fifth goal of the afternoon came when a pair of freshman connected on a corner kick. After a slight coaching adjustment to hold her run back on the corners, Figlestahler watched a corner sent in by Abbott skip right through the box and onto her foot for her first career goal that came in the 83rd minute of play.
A total of 10 different Bears recorded shots in the game as Shawnee State took 16 shots and put 12 on goal. Fair led the way with her four. Johnson would also take three shots, putting all of her attempts on frame.
In goal, Shelbi Halverson played the first 45 minutes in net and stopped three of the five shots that she faced. Shawnee State switched it up at halftime and sent Emily Kuehn out for the second half. She would stop all four shots that she faced to pick up her first win of the year.
Up next for the Bears will be the first Mid-South matchup of the season at Georgetown next Saturday, August 15 at 2 p.m. That match will kick off a string off four straight road matches for the team.
