Reinhardt Outlasts Tennessee Wesleyan in Wednesday Matchup
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WALESKA, Ga. – The Eagles scored twice in 18 seconds in the 15th minute against Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday evening as Reinhardt was able to hold off the Bulldogs in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play, 3-2.
With the win, the hometown squad improved to 2-2 overall and claimed its second victory in league action for a 2-0 mark.
"I'm really happy with how our team performed tonight," head coach Andy Kaplan said. "We beat a very good team from Tennessee Wesleyan. I thought we did a great job controlling the tempo of the game and created some excellent scoring opportunities. We made a few mistakes with fouls that we will clean up as our group is still coming together and learning how to maximize our potential.
I think we took a big step forward tonight."
Lidia Herrera got the Eagles on the board first with a rebound and score at 14:02 after Aryn Parrish's attempt smashed off the crossbar. Less than 20 seconds later, the Reinhardt advantage was doubled to 2-0 following a goal from Mary Kate Williamson after an assist by Lauren Akemon.
Tennessee Wesleyan didn't trail by two for long, however, as the visitors found the back of the net less than a minute later to cut into its deficit, 2-1, at 15:08.
A second-half free kick opportunity ended in the third goal of the evening for the hosts after Mary Kate Williamson clipped the attempt by Kira Council for her second tally in the contest.
The Bulldogs would get back within one (3-2) once again in the 71st minute, but couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
The Eagles outshot the opposition, 20-8, in the positive outcome with eight shots on-goal and 14 corner kicks.
The Reinhardt defense was stellar the entire night and only allowed four shots on-goal while Caroline Johnson took home another victory in the net.
The club looks to go over .500 on the year on Saturday when it travels to Union (Ky.) for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Bulldogs.
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