BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – At the beginning of the season, head coach Darren Ambrose spoke highly of the team’s depth this year and that depth was an important piece in the Commodores 1-0 win at Western Kentucky Friday night.
Going into the match, the Commodores had been dealing with the injury bug, which caused a number of players to be unavailable. Ambrose relied on the youth against the Lady Toppers, as he started a season-high five freshmen Friday night.
“Overall I thought it was very encouraging, I thought they played really well,” stated Ambrose. “You throw kids out there and at some point you start to trust what they can do and they are starting to earn our trust. It was evident at the end of the game when trying to hold onto the 1-0 lead. We needed some composure and it actually came from some of our freshmen.”
The freshmen were the ones to strike early for the Dores. They got the first corner kick of the game and Madison Elwell would send it high into the box. Rebecca Rossett was the first to get to the ball, passed it over to Olivia Simmons who sent the ball to the back of the net for her first career goal. Rossett picked up her second assist of the season on the play.
That would be all the action in the first half as the Commodores maintained most of the possession and limited the Lady Toppers to just two shots.
In the second half, the Commodores would pack it in defensively in hopes to keep the lead and claim the win.
Western Kentucky would only muster three shots in the second half as the Commodore defense did a great job limiting their opportunities. None of the three shots would make it on goal and the Commodores would come away with the 1-0 win.
The underclassmen got it done for the Dores Friday night. Of the 17 players to get on the pitch, 13 were either sophomores or freshmen for the Commodores. Olivia Simmons earned her first career start along with her first career goal against the Lady Toppers.
“It didn’t really hit me until I got back to the line that I had just scored my first goal,” stated Simmons. “It was great because I was struggling to find my way a little bit and get playing time but got an opportunity tonight. So earning the start and the goal really secured what I am supposed to be on this team and why I decided to come here.”
Kaitlyn Fahrner was one of the few upperclassmen on the field Friday night as she tallied her second clean sheet of the season. Fahrner has only given up five goals in 540 minutes of action this season.
The Commodores return home to close out the final non-conference weekend of the season. They face in-city foe Lipscomb Sunday night at 7:00 pm CT for Heroes Night honoring our local law enforcement and military. Gates will open an hour before kickoff at the VU Soccer Complex and admission is free.
