Shawnee State took on University of Tennessee Southern, who is ranked 3rd in NAIA, in Friday night's conference match-up. Strong performances from Daan Louwerse, Jule Kalmer, and Paige Alford, as well as 11 saves from Shelbi Ritchie, allowed the Bears to hold the score line to a minimum.

The Bears started off strong, keeping chances for UT Southern to a minimum. However, in the 7^th minute Suzuho Yamasaki found the back of the net past goalkeeper Leonie Heck, which was assisted by Keito Ido. The Bears were able to answer back with two consecutive shots from Haynna Addy and Madison Humble. In the 19^th minute, UT Southern's Abbie Madden was able to finish off of a corner at the near post. Shawnee State's Lucy Snyder was also able to get a shot from a pass back that was sent just high over the crossbar.

UT Southern started the second half with a string of 3 corners, all of which were punched out of the box by Shelbi Ritchie. Within the next 10 minutes the Bears were able to withstand the pressure from UT Southern, with Ritchie making 3 more saves. The Bears saw one of their best chances of the night from a corner taken by Alba Closa Tarres, who found the head of Daan Louwerse, but was saved by UT Southern's goalkeeper Gabby Kennedy. Shelbi Ritchie was able to keep UT Southern off of the score sheet for 15 more minutes, as she recorded 3 more saves. UT Southern was able to find success as the ball was crossed from the left hand side into the box, headed down by Adisa Amang, and finished by a shot from Gabriella Forsythe. Shawnee State immediately answered back with a shot from outside of the box by Brenna Woodard, which was tipped into the crossbar and saved by Kennedy. The Bears were then able to break through the back line to find the goalkeeper out of position for a shot by Amber Whenham, which was able to be saved by Kennedy. In the 89^th minute, Adisa Amang was able to pass Shawnee defenders and finish past Ritchie. The Bears would see one last chance in the last 30 seconds of the game, with a switch across field from Alba Closa Tarres to Amber Whenham, who took the shot. The shot was saved and rebounded back into the box, which found Carlota Ipina Taylor, who took a last-minute shot that went wide left.

The Bears will be back in action at the Shawnee Turf on Sunday, October 10^th, as they take on Cumberland University (TN) in their next Mid-South Conference match-up. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 12:30pm.

For more information on the Bears regarding schedule information or live streaming, please visit ssubears.com. You can also follow the Women's program on Facebook (Shawnee State University Women's Soccer), Instagram (ssu_wsoccer), and Twitter (SSU_WSoccer).