Pair of First-Half Goals Leads Wildcats to 2-0 Victory Over Park

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Aubree Koren and Ellie Shumate netted goals within the first 15 minutes of Baker's conference clash against Park to boost the Wildcats to a 2-0 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday evening at Hartley Field.

With the two-goal cushion from the offense, the Wildcats defense posted their third shutout of the season, blanking a Pirates squad that had scored 14 goals over its previous three matches.

"I'm really proud of this one for the girls, we've dealt with a little adversity along the way this year," said Baker head coach Sara Matthews. "It's taken a progression of learning a new scheme and strategy, but we got to see it come together in full tonight. To be consistent throughout the game and put together a solid 90 minutes was really important for us."

Baker outshot Park, 9-8 and held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks with both of its goals coming off of set pieces. Cate Nearmyer and Emma Schieber led BU in shots with two apiece, while the Baker backline of Macie Albright, Darcy Cato, Kat Sargent and Caitlin Youles each played the full 90 minutes of their scoreless effort.

After being held without a goal in their last three matches, the Wildcats came out firing in this one, earning an early corner kick as well as a great attempt by Nearmyer who almost found the back of the net in the 10th minute on a shot that clanged off the crossbar.

Shortly after that, Baker was rewarded for its early assault in the 11th minute with a foul on the edge of the box leading to its first goal of the match. Taking the free kick, Youles was able to find a leaping Koren whose header tailed over the Park keeper for the game-opening goal.

It was another set piece for BU that resulted in its second goal just a few minutes later, this time coming on a corner kick opportunity in the 15th minute. Once again with the setup was Youles whose entry found the foot of Shumate and the sophomore midfielder was able to knock it in for her first goal of the season and put Baker on top, 2-0.

The Wildcats held the Pirates without a shot for the final 20 minutes of the first half to go into halftime with momentum and a two-goal lead.

Just as they had done to begin the game, the Wildcats opened up the second half with some solid attacks. Schieber put the Park goalie to work again, tallying a shot on goal in the 62nd minute.

The Pirates had a couple opportunities come later in the second half, including a strike from their senior midfielder Mikayla Knipp in the 77th minute that ended up as an excellent save by Baker keeper Jorja Martin. Park added a few corner kicks as well, but the Wildcats would preserve the shutout and earn their second win in conference play.

Martin finished the match with two saves to give the Shawnee, Kan. product her second clean sheet of the season.

Koren's game-winner was her team-high third goal of the fall after she recorded a brace against McPherson earlier this year. For Youles, it marked her second game this season with multiple assists after earning two assists in that match against the Bulldogs.

"We said it in the locker room before the match that we wanted to start fast," added Matthews. "The first 10 or 15 minutes was going to be key for us to set the tone and we did just that with the two early goals. I'm really proud of our backline and Jorja Martin in goal. Credit to Park they have a fantastic forward, so we had to come up with a strategy to handle her and our defense bought into it and held together tightly."

Baker will head out for a road trip this weekend with a match at Grand View set for Saturday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.

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