Beaver soars past Villa Maria

By Matylda Zamudio

New Brighton, Pa. -- The Beaver women's soccer team defeated Villa Maria, 5-0.

In their first home game of the season, the Lady Lions faced off against Villa Maria this Saturday afternoon. After losing their first three roads games, the Lady Lions aimed to turn their season around and grab their first win on their home field.

As the first period commenced, the ladies looked energized; the offense played solid and passed the ball fluidly into scoring territory just minutes in. Anna Marianne Diallo and Katie Valiga both made shot attempts in the first four minutes. Valiga played aggressively and attempted 10 shots total in the first 27 minutes. 28 minutes in, Roxy Stalnaker put pressure on Villa Maria's defensive and attempted 2 shots in less than a minute. 34 minutes in, not taking her foot off the gas, Valiga drove past two Villa Maria defenders and launched a shot straight into Villa Maria's net, scoring Beaver's first goal. Jessica Robles assisted on the play. In the next eight minutes, Valiga launched 3 corner kicks, attempting to widen Beaver's lead before the clock ran out in the first half.

During the second half, Beaver got hot, as ladies retained possession for a majority of the period. 59 minutes in, Brianna Sanford scored the second goal for Beaver. Villa Maria's offense struggled against the Lady Lions during the next 14 minutes by turning over the ball, which Beaver took full advantage of and drove the ball back to Villa Maria scoring territory. Abbie Miller swung, and scored a goal 75 minutes in, putting Beaver up 3-0. Keeping Villa Maria off the board, Beaver's fiery attack persisted, as Valiga and Diallo scored two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, ending the 5-0. Beaver was victorious, as the ladies won their first game of the season.

After today's game, the women's soccer team are 1-3 overall.

Beaver plays on the road against Penn State Mont Alto Wednesday, September 19. Gametime is set for 2 p.m.