Eagles Overcome Lions in 3-1 Wednesday Victory

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Women's soccer was able to lace up the cleats once again at Ken White Field at University Stadium on Wednesday evening, and the Eagles sent the hometown fans home happy with a come-from-behind victory over Bryan (Tenn.), 3-1.

Reinhardt (5-1, 5-1 Appalachian Athletic Conference) has now tasted victory for the fifth-straight contest, and did so after overcoming some early adversity on the defensive end after trailing in the opening minutes for the first time all season.

"I'm very pleased with the result tonight," head coach Andy Kaplan said. "I believe we have the best keeper and back-four combination in the conference (Caroline Johnson, Kira Council, Lis Dunlap, Ella Higdon and Mary Kate Williamson).We made a bad mistake at the beginning of the game that put us down 1-0… Our team showed great composure, we never panicked, just continued to be patient and played our brand of soccer. I believe that our team showed championship-level character tonight."

The Lions were able to jump up on the Eagles in the fifth minute after streaking though the defense and finding the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage – putting Reinhardt behind in regulation for the first time in 2020.

Kaplan's group would respond with three-unanswered goals – two in the first half – to continue its winning ways. Adriana Garcia found Kaitlyn Lauk at 19:29 to knot things up at 1-1 before Kalyn Donegan scored the eventual winning goal in the 35^th minute.

The defense would rebound from the early blunder in a big way and shut down the Bryan attack through halftime, a 2-1 lead, and the rest of the contest by allowing only four shot attempts. As the conference battle continued to have drama about the final outcome, Sierra Ruetten slammed in a long goal off a free kick to add cushion for the Eagles at 76:33.

Reinhardt outshot Bryan, 20-4, and continuously put pressure on the Lions with stellar ball possession and smothering defense – helping Caroline Johnson get an in-net win without recording a save.

The Knights of Kentucky Christian are up next on the schedule as they host the hometown team at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. 

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For more information on Reinhardt Women's Soccer, please click here.