Second Half Explosion Carries Wilkes Women's Soccer Past King's 5-1
EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilke University women's soccer team exploded for four goals over the final 20-plus minutes in a 5-1 win over King's College in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) action from Bruggeworth Field on Wednesday evening.
The Colonels improved to 3-2-0 in conference and 6-6-1 overall while King's fell to 1-4-0 and 6-9-1.
Jessica Egan (West Long Branch, NJ/Shore Regional) got Wilkes on the board in the 21st minute when Karyna Vargas (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) found her in the box for a chip-shot goal.
The Monarchs tied the score in the 37th minute with a goal from Kristina Keithley, assisted by Emily Harrington.
The score remained even as the two teams headed into the half. The Colonels led the first 45 in shots eight to two.
Wilkes pulled ahead in the 60th minute when Emily Bidelspach (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) found Vargas for a clean rocket shot that beat King's goalkeeper Tara Bender high.
The Colonels added a third goal in the 74th minute on a perfect corner execution by Vargas that found J. Egan for a header goal.
Tatiana Mancera (Miami, FL/Archimedean Upper Conservatory) got in on the scoring 61 seconds later when she netted a goal with an assist from Haley Evans (Deptford, NJ/GCIT).
Allison Peet (Sayre, PA/Sayre) finished the scoring in the 90th minute when Evans lined a shot that went through Bender's hands for an easy tap-in by Peet.
Samantha Cecere (Batavia, NY/Batavia) earned the win, making two saves over 78:38. Kendall Koch (Asbury, NJ/Warren Hills) saved the only shot she faced over the final 11:22. Bender made three saves for King's.
Wilkes outshot the Monarchs 16 to four with eight shots hitting the target for the Colonels compared to four for King's. Wilkes also held a seven to four advantage in corner kicks.
The Colonels return to action on Saturday when they travel to Center Valley, Pa. for a 12:00 p.m. MAC Freedom game against DeSales University. The Bulldogs currently sit one point ahead of Wilkes in the conference standings with a 3-1-1 record.
