Women’s Soccer Wins One, Loses Close Battle Over Weekend

ANKENY, Iowa—The Faith Eagles women's soccer team began the weekend with another nice win against North Central University on Friday, their second in less than a week. Saturday's matchup with a talented Bethany Lutheran team was close the entire game but ended in heartbreaking fashion after the girls went toe-to-toe with the Vikings.

On Friday, the Eagles did a great job of passing the ball, leading to a four-goal outburst from the offense. The defense did its part as well, holding the Rams scoreless for the second consecutive game.

Just under eight minutes into the game, Jessica Frerichs scored the first goal (unassisted). Before the first half ended, Abigail Speichinger took an amazing shot, scoring the second goal. Abigail scored again shortly after the second half began, assisted by Christy Fulton. Aubree Smith, assisted by Abby Zollinger, scored the fourth and final goal late in the contest.

On Saturday, the Eagles were shooting for a school-record 3-0 start but came up just short.

After a scoreless first twenty minutes of the game, the Vikings struck first with a goal into the corner of the net, well out of the reach of goalie Aubree Smith.

Eight minutes later, the Eagles answered off a corner kick that found its way to the backside of the Vikings defense, which was exploited by Abigail Speichinger, who weaved her way around several defenders for an unassisted goal. It was the fifth goal of the season for Speichinger, which leads all Eagles' scorers. The first half ended in a 1-1 tie.

Both teams played neck and neck the entire second half, with several near-misses by the Eagles' offense. With time winding down, in a slow, steady rain, the Vikings slipped around a pair of Eagles' defenders and kicked in the go-ahead goal with just over five minutes to play.

Thirty seconds later, Faith narrowly missed a game-tying shot by Jessica Frerichs, which hit the underside of the top post and almost went in the net. The Eagles had two more shots before the final buzzer but were unable to convert. The final score was 2-1. Shots were even at 13 each, while Bethany Lutheran held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

The Eagles (2-1) look to get back on track Saturday, September 14, at 4:00 p.m. against Eureka College (0-2) during Faith's Homecoming Weekend.