Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania women's soccer team dominated possession in the attacking half en route to a 2-0 win on Senior Day over the Bluffton University Beavers on Saturday afternoon at Pat Deacon Stadium.
The win boosts the Pioneers' record to 7-3-1 overall and 2-1-0 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The loss drops the Beavers to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in HCAC contests.
The Pioneers pounced on the Beavers from the opening whistle and never took their foot off of the gas. Shots from Brooke Puterbaugh and Abby Dean forced saves from the Bluffton goalkeeper within the opening 10 minutes of the match.
The Pioneers struck first on the counterattack as Cass Thomas played a perfect through ball to Abby Baker, who was one-on-one with the Bluffton goalkeeper. The two of the eight seniors honored in a pregame ceremony on Saturday crafted an indelible memory as Baker drove her effort into the net to put the Pioneers in front, 1-0 in the 13th minute.
Transylvania outshot Bluffton, 12-2 for the remainder of the first half while maintaining their 1-0 advantage.
With the pressure mounting in the second half, the Pioneers were in search of an insurance goal to lock in the victory. Their breakthrough came in the 82nd minute as the Beavers made a defensive error that allowed Audrey Rawls to place a pinpoint pass to the feet of Rachel Green, who fired her shot beyond the goalkeeper to complete the scoring at 2-0 in favor of the Pioneers.
Transylvania allowed zero shots by Bluffton in the second half as the Pioneers increased their advantage in shots taken to 24-2, and 11-2 in shots on goal.
The Pioneers have a quick turnaround as they face the Hanover College Panthers tomorrow, Sunday October 10 in a makeup game from this past Wednesday which was postponed due to weather. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Pat Deacon Stadium.
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