MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- The women's soccer program at Shawnee State battled homestanding Mount Vernon Nazarene to a scoreless tie at the halftime break and got a 78th minute goal from Annie Coriell following an early second half salvo by MVNU to again tie the score at one apiece, but two goals by the Cougars over the final 11 minutes of the match forced the Bears to settle for a 3-1 setback in a well-contested season-opener from both sides at CH4 Stadium in Mount Vernon Saturday afternoon.

Despite playing on the defensive over much of the first 20 minutes of the contest, Shawnee State was able to hold strong as three Harlee Brand saves within the first 30 minutes of the match kept the contest scoreless at the halftime break. Shawnee State was outshot by Mount Vernon by a 6-1 count in the opening half of play, but Brand's work in goal and defensive pressure in the back third of the field helped the Bears draw with the Cougars at the half.

Even though Mount Vernon was able to get on the board first following a foul that allowed the Cougars' Alexis Hoffman to score on a penalty kick that put Mount Vernon ahead by a 1-0 margin, Shawnee State held smooth possessions over much of the next 30 minutes of play, establishing several runs that resulted in shots by Lucie Ashkettle, Robyn Drinkwater, and Abby Kennedy.

While all of those attempts were either saved by Mount Vernon Nazarene's Hannah Miller or blocked by the MVNU defense, Shawnee State was able to capitalize on an opportunity that created essentially a new match late in the going.

With the ball advancing down the far side of the pitch, Shawnee State junior midfielder took a pass from the far right corner of the field, and, from the middle of the box, headed the ball into the near side of the net in the 78th to tie the match again at 1-1.

Coriell's seventh career goal with the Bears, however, would be answered in the following minute.

As Mount Vernon Nazarene made its own advance down toward Shawnee State's end, a ball by MVNU's Bekah Blair appeared to be cleared successfully by the Shawnee State defense. However, a handball was called -- ultimately leading to a second penalty kick opportunity that Blair converted in the 79th minute. Hoffman then scored in the 88th minute from around 30 yards away to finalize the result.

Shawnee State (0-1) will look to rebound in its home opener against Cincinnati-Clermont Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., which will be held at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth. The live feed can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@ssubearsathletics.