Over the fall season, the Shawnee State women's soccer program enjoyed noticable improvements in their offensive play and overall pace under third-year head coach Natasha Ademakinwa -- which showed in an outstanding fall start that saw the Bears claim victories over Midway, Asbury and Ohio Christian.
It's clear that over the winter, the Bears have only gotten stronger under the direction of her and her staff.
Paige Alford, who already had three goals and an assist coming into the contest due to her work in the fall slate of the schedule, posted a 32nd minute blast while Hannah Sponsel scored with a minute-and-a-half to go in the opening half to put Shawnee State ahead by a 2-0 tally over Thomas More. The Bears then held off the Saints over the final 45 minutes, with a 69th-minute salvo by Brenna Woodard offsetting two goals from Morgan Beare and Hannah Dargo as Shawnee State took home a 3-2 victory over Thomas More Sunday afternoon in Crestview Hills, Ky.
Shawnee State, who sits a win away from matching the 2011-12 unit and two wins away from equaling the 2013-14 group for the most wins to start a season in school history, used strong play on both ends of the BB&T Field Turf to notch a 19-10 edge in shots and a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal. Shelbie Ritchie added in a rock-solid effort between the posts for SSU, notching four saves thanks in part to a strong and experienced SSU backline.
Alford continues building on early season momentum
Having already posted a strong start to her individual campaign, Alford continued to build on her personal onslaught. The sophomore from the United Kingdom scored her fourth goal in four games with her 32nd minute blast from the edge of the box, continuing to show a mature finishing approach that has the Tonbridge, Kent native has developed since being moved from the defensive side to the offensive side of the pitch.
With her fourth goal of the season, Alford tied Life (Ga.)'s Sarah Slingluff and Martin Methodist (Tenn.)'s Adisa Amang for the fourth-most goals of any player in the Mid-South Conference. The 5-5 midfielder now has nine points for the season, which is tied for Cumberlands (Ky.)'s Ainhoa Camara for sixth overall in the MSC. She now has six goals for her career.
Sponsel adds key first-half blast
Primarily a defender, Middletown's Hannah Sponsel came up large with her first career goal in the 43rd minute of play, adding to a lead that allowed Shawnee State to enjoy a comfortable 2-0 advantage.
Sponsel, who has been a reliable force as a defender throughout her first four games of play, has teamed with fellow Middletown native Madison Culp to make a significant impact in the SSU lineup. The duo have already combined for a goal and two assists this season, while the 2020 signing class, when one includes fellow scorers Alba Closa Tarres, Haynna Addy, and Breanna Murphy, have posted four goals and four assists between them in the first four games of the season so far.
Woodard, van Wees connect on second half salvo
Having seen Thomas More strike on a 56th minute blast from Morgan Beare on a pass from Ryann Meddings, Brenna Woodard used her solid foot touch to come up big for the Bears.
The sophomore midfielder, who posted team-highs of seven shots and three shots on goal for Shawnee State in the game, scored off of a well-placed corner kick from fellow sophomore Nikki van Wees, giving the Bears a much-needed insurance goal that put the Bears up by a 3-1 tally. That proved to be big -- as evidenced by Hannah Dargo's goal in the 84th minute that cut Shawnee State's lead to one, 3-2, once again.
Woodard, who scored her first goal of the year, now has three goals for her career, while van Wees has a goal and an assist on the year and two goals and seven assists in all.
Defense critical at all stops
Shawnee State's defense, led by a backline that included Sponsel, Ritchie, Alex Raudier, and Ellie Aston among others, were big throughout. At one point, Thomas More faced four shots and a corner kick over the first seven minutes of the second half, but held the Saints without a salvo through all of those opportunities in a critical stretch that allowed the Bears to maintain control.
NEXT UP
Shawnee State will head to the road Tuesday evening for another big Mid-South Conference tilt when the Bears face off against Georgetown. The 4-0 Bears and the 1-0 Tigers are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown in what will be the Tigers' Mid-South Conference opener.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
