RV Taylor Generates Chances Aplenty in Narrow Defeat to No. 9 IWU

UPLAND, Ind. – RV Taylor women's soccer (8-2-4, 3-1-2 CL) and No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan (11-1-3, 5-0-1) battled the elements at Turner Stadium on a misty, windy Saturday night in a 1-0 win for the Wildcats.

TU was the more attacking team in the match's opening 45 minutes, when it racked up 12 shots against a Wildcat defense that had faced an average of under seven shot attempts per match coming into the night. While Indiana Wesleyan played most of the first period defending their own end, three of the five shots it put up in the half were on goal, whereas Taylor had just one such shot.

IWU looked more like the top-10 team that it is to begin the second half, when they quickly flipped the field following three early shots from TU. The Wildcats' aggressiveness pushing the ball up the pitch allowed them to draw a foul and an ensuing free kick for Mallory Krueger, who found their goal-scoring leader Ashley Townsend for the eventual game-winner in the 51st minute. 

Taylor's best chances of the night came in the 55th and 68th minutes that seemed to reignite its offense. Leah McQuade's strong shot in front of the net in the aforementioned moment was saved by IWU goalie Avery Sluss, and Chloe Sena used excellent footwork to break free from her defender on the right side and unleash a powerful shot that missed inches high in the latter of the chances.

In all, the Trojans tallied three shots on goal in the second half, but the Wildcat defense shut the door by executing several clear outs down the stretch to hand TU its first CL loss of the season.

Taylor finished the game with a 23-9 advantage in the shots department, and it tied IWU with four corner kicks throughout the night. TU was led in shots on goal by Leah McQuade with two, while Sydney Thompson matched McQuade with a shared game-high of four total shots.

Hannah Brackenbury played a stellar game in net for the Trojans, as the senior faced six shots on goal, saving five of them. Several of the opportunities occurred mere steps outside the net and required Brackenbury to be quick with her hands to keep Taylor in the match.

The Trojans have a week off to prepare for their next match on Saturday, Oct. 21 at No. 2 Spring Arbor (12-0-1, 4-0-1 CL) at 7 p.m.