Box Score BUCKHANNON – In a one-minute span, the West Virginia Wesleyan Lady Bobcats took control of a game that seemed destined for overtime against the Slippery Rock University Rockets today at Culpepper Stadium.
With the game being played in a down pour for most of the 90 minutes of action, neither team produced much of an attack in the first half as they played to a 0-0 deadlock.
But in the 65th minute, Wesleyan scored twice and went on for a 2-1 victory.
Amy Stewart tapped in a ball from in front of the net at the 65:03 mark to get Wesleyan on the board.
Haelly Ramirez and Audrey Barber were credited with assists on the play.
Just 28 seconds later, Ramirez scored on a penalty kick after a foul and yellow card on Slippery Rock keeper Kara Seebacher.
That gave Wesleyan a 2-0 lead.
Slippery Rock made it a 2-1 game in the 69th minute when Shannon McIntyre put a corner kick home from Tess Kelley.
Wesleyan though made that 2-1 lead stand up the rest of the way to record their first win of the year.
"The win was very big for us for a number of reasons," remarked head coach Patrick Holguin. "It is always nice to get that first win, plus I think it gives our team some confidence heading into Tuesday's Mountain East Conference opener. It was also a big win for us in the region as well."
The Lady Bobcats had 15 shots and put four on goal.
Slippery Rock managed 15 shots and put nine on goal
Ashlee Schumacher and Chelsea Hubner again split time in the net for Wesleyan.
Schumacher played the first half and turned away both shots she faced. Hubner was in goal the second half and made six saves on seven attempts.
Fouls were even at 12 apiece.
"I thought we had to rebound from Shippensburg tie even though I thought we should have came out of that game with a win," concluded Holguin. "I thought we played well today. Slippery Rock put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the second half. But we made some moves and the players responded to get two quick goals."
Wesleyan is now 1-0-1 on the season and will return to action Tuesday at home against Concord.
The Mountain East Conference battle will start at 7 p.m.
