WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University women's soccer team defeated the FDU-Florham Devils 4-1 on Saturday evening at Bruggeworth Field for their first home win of the season.

The Colonels improve to 4-2-1 on the season with the win, while the Devils drop to 3-4-1 with the loss.

In a first half that saw four total goals scored, it was the Colonels who jumped ahead early. At 1:54 Maggie Allen (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) set up a quick goal for Sarah Straup (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen), tipping it in just in front of the net to give Wilkes a 1-0 lead.

Both teams traded shots for a while until the Devils capitalized on a Colonels mistake. FDU-Florham tied the game at 24:23 off a Wilkes own goal, but it wouldn't take long for the navy and gold to bounce back. With the Colonels on a corner kick, Elena Kajain scored an Olimpico goal, her first goal of the year, to put the Colonels back on top at 26:39.

Wilkes struck again at 31:46 as Kajain earned an assist on Taylor Anthony's (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) first goal of the season to make it 3-1 Colonels. That score held going into halftime with the Colonels also leading the Devils in shots taken 5-4 and in corner kicks 3-0.

The scoring cooled down considerably in the second half with only one goal scored. Wilkes once again took five shots in the half, but scored the clinching goal at 81:25 when Allen found the back of the net off an assist from Straup to make it 4-1. 

The Devils had chances to make it a closer game as they took eight shots in the second half, but goalkeeper Delaney Yaracs (Butler, PA/Butler) made four saves and strong team defense ensured FDU-Florham never got any momentum.

For the game the Colonels were outshot by the Devils 12-10, but had more shots on than their opponent 9-6. They also earned four corner kicks while the Devils had none. The trio of Allen, Kajain, and Straup led the way for Wilkes as all three finished with one goal and one assist, and Yaracs got the win in net while making six saves.

Next up for the Colonels is another contest at Bruggeworth Field on Wednesday, Sept. 24. This time against Widener University with the match beginning at 7 p.m.