PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Women's Soccer) – The Shawnee State women's soccer team obtained a great effort from its backline as well as a strong nine save effort from Michaela Garner (FR/Heath, Ohio), but Lindsey Wilson's offensive tandem of Yvonne Ploeg and Lyana Perez proved to be too strong for the Bears as the No. 1-ranked Blue Raiders took home a 6-0 victory in a Mid-South Conference contest at the Shawnee Turf on Wednesday afternoon.
On the afternoon, Shawnee State (7-6-1, 1-4 Mid-South) couldn't find much room to move on the day as Lindsey Wilson (12-1-3, 6-0 Mid-South) took 21 shots, with the Blue Raiders putting 15 of those on goal. Meanwhile, the Bears were limited to just two shots, with a Jenny Campbell (SO/Chillicothe, Ohio) free kick in the 86th minute counting as the Bears' lone shot on goal.
It would only take four minutes for the star duo to paint the scoreboard for Lindsey Wilson as Perez took a pass from Ploeg on the far side of the field and finished with a goal on the opposite side of the net to put the Blue Raiders in front early.
Eight minutes later, the Blue Raiders struck again, as Perez would take another pass from Ploeg – this time on the near side – and finish with a hard shot into the upper half of the net to give Lindsey Wilson a 2-0 advantage over Shawnee State with 12:26 gone in the game.
The Bears would make the Blue Raiders work for their goals, however, as the backline of Tasha Wilson (SR/Kettering, Ohio), Erin Phillips (SR/Mount Sterling, Ohio), Mollie King (SR/West Jefferson, Ohio), and Mara McGee (SO/Baltimore, Ohio) disrupted several Lindsey Wilson advances not only in the first half, but in the remainder of the contest as well.
When the backline was beaten by the Blue Raider attack, Garner was there for a strong effort in goal, as the freshman stopped seven shots in the first half alone.
Ploeg, however, was not to be denied. In the 22nd minute, the freshman took the ball and from 15 yards out, zoomed past a Shawnee State defender to launch a shot that beat an outstretched Garner to the low post.
The midfielder would cap off a gargantuan first half by adding another finish in the 33rd minute of play in splitting a pair of Bears to put another shot past Garner and give Lindsey Wilson a 4-0 halftime advantage.
In the second half of play, Shawnee State would ramp up the defensive pressure as the Blue Raiders would come up empty on the scoreboard over the first 15 minutes of play.
However, once Ploeg was reinserted into the contest after a short break to begin the half, the freshman would go right back to work for Lindsey Wilson as the midfielder added two more unassisted cannons just over five and a half minutes apart from each other to extend the Blue Raider lead to a 6-0 edge.
The Bears would get a chance to paint the scoreboard in the 86th minute as Jenny Campbell obtained a free kick off of a Lindsey Wilson foul. However, Campbell's kick would sail just high enough to deflect off of the crossbar, and the Blue Raiders would not allow Shawnee State to threaten from that point forward.
As far as the upcoming slate is concerned, the Bears will grab two full days of rest before taking on another strong MSC opponent in Cumberland (Tenn.), who is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll.
The contest, which will also serve as the program's senior day, will honor Wilson, Phillips, King, and Schuyler Jones (SR/Ramnicu Valcea, Romania) for their accomplishments and efforts on and off of the playing surface. The game itself will commence at 12 p.m.
