KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College women's soccer team entered Wednesday evening's home opener against Viterbo University (NAIA) with the peace of mind of having nine of their next 10 contests at Art Keller Field. The V-Hawks set the tone with an early 1-0 advantage before Carthage responded with two unanswered goals en route to a 2-1 victory.
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Maggie Washelesky and
Nicole Nitti each registered their first goals of the season for a Carthage team that held a 9-5 advantage in shots. Leading scorer
Taylor Stenmark, and
Libby Snyder each tallied a pair of shots for the Carthage offense. Lady Reds goalkeeper
Sara Lieffrig improved to 3-1-1 on the season with a four-save effort. Viterbo goalkeeper Abby Breitbach stopped two shots for a .500 save percentage in the contest.
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The Lady Reds improve to 3-1-1, 0-0 CCIW while Viterbo University drops to 3-4, 0-0 North Star Athletic Association.
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Lady Reds 2, Viterbo 1
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The V-Hawks turned a Carthage foul into a goal in the sixth minute. Rachel Rudd, who stood 40 yards out on Lady Reds goalkeeper
Sara Lieffrig's right, booted the ensuing free kick that bounced off Sydney King's head to the back of the net to give Viterbo a 1-0 lead.
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It took the Lady Reds three shots to beat Viterbo goalkeeper Abby Breitbach. Washelesky, who made her second appearance of the season, did the honors in the 24
th minute when she shifted around three Viterbo defenders before taking a ground-ball shot from 20 yards out that beat Breitbach to knot the game 1-1.
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Carthage's success on the corner kick continued in the 55
th minute when
Jacey Kent's boot found a scrum of players in front of the net. The ball trickled off Viterbo defenders and found Nitti's foot, who blooped a shot from 30 yards out that sailed over Breitbach's head to give Carthage a 2-1 lead.
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Three infractions were assessed within the final 10:00. Viterbo committed two of them in the 83
rd minute, while Carthage drew a yellow card in the 88
th minute.
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The Lady Reds will return to action on Saturday, September 15 against UW-La Crosse at Art Keller Field. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.