Lady Argos Net First CCC Win Over Beacons
Great Falls, Mont. - The Lady Argos only needed a little over five minutes to take a lead that would stand for the rest of the game against Northwest Christian University, grabbing their first conference win 2-1.
From the opening of the match, UGF looked the more aggressive and energetic side with freshman midfielder Sarah Howell dominating play along the right wing. Her play accounted for both Argos goals with the first coming just two and a half minutes into the game.
The goal came after a long ball played Howell into the deep right corner. Howell worked around her defender to place a cross into the six-yard box where junior Ashley Klepac was waiting to direct the ball into the net.
It didn’t take long for Howell to get a goal of her own, when two minutes later she received a similar ball from midfielder Serafina Robles and this time cut back inside and let loose a shot from just inside the right corner of the penalty box. The ball found the opposite side netting, put Great Falls up 2-0, and gave Howell her fifth goal of the season.
The rest of the half became an offensive oriented battle with both teams getting multiple scoring chances that couldn’t quite find their intended target. The Beacons barely outshot the Argos 7-6 in the first 45 minutes with both teams getting four shots on goals and drawing one corner kick each.
The start of the second half went almost as well for the Beacons as the start of the first half went for UGF. The Argos came out slow and allowed NCU to dictate play. Northwest Christian quickly took advantage with a shot from the left corner of the box in the forty-ninth minute. Pulling within one only added to the Beacons momentum as they continued to pepper the UGF goal. This time, however, Argos goalkeeper Kyra Dorvall was up to the task.
Dorvall finished the game with nine saves and kept the lead for her team until they were able to regain control of the game. The final 25 minutes saw play return to a back-and-forth tempo which saw UGF almost connect on a number of chances.
By hanging on to their one goal margin, the Lady Argos earned their first win as a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference and brings their season record to 3-1-1.
Their next task will be on the road against conference opponent Eastern Oregon University on September 25 at 7 pm.