BECKLEY, W.Va. – The number 14
th-ranked Concord University women's soccer team opened the 2021 fall campaign with a 3-1 victory over Chowan Thursday afternoon in a non-conference game at the Paul Cline Complex.
Junior forward
Rachel Bell and senior forward
Leah Foster helped power the Mountain Lions to the two-goal victory as Bell got CU on the board just over a minute into the contest—65 seconds in—on a score assisted by Foster and junior forward
Courtney Smith.
The rest of the first half featured both teams trying to find consistency on the offensive end of the field. Senior goalkeeper
Leah Marsh was forced into just one save in the first 45 minutes as Concord maintained a 1-0 lead.
Both goalkeepers were forced into early saves in the second half as Foster had two shots in the first five minutes of the second stanza, but it was Bell that broke through for the game's second goal in the 69
th minute.
The Brampton, England native received a ball deep from Foster into the Chowan defensive end and beat Allison Traub to the left of the goal to push Concord ahead by two scores.
Chowan was undeterred by the deficit and scored less than two minutes later.
However, the Mountain Lions restored a two-goal lead in the 82
nd minute as Foster crossed a ball from left to right, and freshman forward
Kylene Franklin's shot deflected off Traub and into the side of the net for her first career goal.
Marsh made five saves in net for Concord. All four of Bell's shots were on goal while Foster added two shots on goal with her three assists.
The Maroon and Gray owned a 17-11 edge in total shots and had 11 shots on target to Chowan's six. The Mountain Lions tallied seven corners in the contest.
CU travels to head coach
Luke Duffy's alma mater, Lees-McRae, 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.
