Women's Soccer Scores Twice in Second Half to Beat Concordia

(Ann Arbor, MI)--  The Cleary Cougars women's soccer team used goals from Felicia Moseley and Sophia Coelho to propel themselves to their first WHAC victory of the season Wednesday afternoon in Ann Arbor.  

The two teams exchanged chances right around the 35 minute mark.  Cleary's first opportunity came as Elena Strauss fired a shot from the top of the 18 yard box, but missed just inches wide of the left post.  On the ensuing Cardinal possession, CUAA's shot went wide right, and the game remained scoreless.  In the 33rd minute, Lexi Nabozny crossed the ball into the box and found Taylor Franco, but Franco's shot was right at the goalie.  A couple possessions later, Cleary had maybe their best chance in the first half, as Felicia Moseley and Lexi Nabozny had a 2-on-1 opportunity in the Cardinal box, but Moseley's shot was at the keeper.  Concordia started to get forward in the final 15 minutes, but the Cougar defense did well to limit any dangerous chances the Cardinals tried to create.  The score would remain 0-0 at halftime.

In the 50th minute, a Concordia cross found a streaking teammate who fired a shot from close range.  Cougar goalie Tara McGrath makes a reaction save to punch it off the crossbar, and  the ball was then headed out of bounds.  Concordia remained dangerous in the 60th minute, as the hosts had an open net, but fortunately missed wide to the left.

Things finally went Cleary's way in the 61st minute.  After forcing a Cardinal turnover, Taylor Franco dribbled forward up the middle of the pitch and found teammate Elena Strauss.  Strauss held up play, and gave a perfectly weightbed pass to set up Felicia Mosely who only had the goalie to beat.  Moseley placed it in the lower left corner of the box to score her 4th goal of the season, and gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead.  Just five minutes later, Haley Finazzo sent a diagonal through ball up the field to find Sophia Coelho, who dribbled into the box and slotted it home to give Cleary a 2-0 lead.  The Cougars defense stood tall, and Cleary was able to hold on to earn their first WHAC victory of the season.

Tara McGrath picked up her first shutout as a Cougar goalie, as she made 4 saves.  She impoved her individual record to 2-3 on the season.  Felicia Moseley's goal was her fourth of the season, while Sophia Coelho's goal was her first career goal.

Cleary improves to 3-5, 1-in the WHAC.  The Cougars will look to make it two in a row, as they host the UM-Dearborn Wolverines on Saturday, October 8 as part of Cleary's Homecoming.  The Cougars will also recognize this year's graduating class for Senior Day on Saturday.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM at Lake Trust Stadium.

Game Notes: With the Cleary Cougar men's soccer win today vs. Concordia, this was the first time BOTH soccer teams won on the same day since Homecoming 2018, when the Cougars swept Rochester.