Box Score CORAOPOLIS, Pa. -- Point Park University women's soccer nearly had a few more goals on the day, but one was all it needed thanks to another shutout from the Pioneers' defense in a 1-0 victory over Oakland City (Ind.) University on Saturday. The Pioneers got a single tally from Cara Spry 50 seconds before halftime to win the River States Conference matchup at Montour Junction Sports Complex.
Point Park (2-5, 2-0 RSC) made it a 2-0 week in conference play when coupled with Thursday's 4-0 win over Brescia (Ky.). The second shutout in a row was just what the Pioneers needed in a hard-fought win less than 48 hours after the previous game.
With a 10 a.m. kickoff, the Pioneers came out hungry for the goal line. It was the first of four RSC games at Montour Junction Field #1 on the day. The Pioneers had all six of their shot attempts before the half. Three of them hit the post as the game remained 0-0.
Despite the near misses, Spry got one to go just before the half. She flicked it toward the goal from about 30 yards. The ball came down in an arc and curved just inside of the right post the Pioneers had hit twice before. It hit the side of the net on the inside.
The other two shots the Pioneers put together in the first half were great saves by Oakland City goalkeeper Jillian Beem. She caught to hard shots from close range to keep the game scoreless to those points in the game.
The second half saw Oakland City (5-3, 1-1 RSC) put up seven shots compared to none for Point Park. But the Pioneers held firm on defense to secure the shutout and the win. Point Park goalkeeper Ella Serlin made seven saves with five of them coming in the second half. The Point Park team defense was also credited with a save in the 58th minute.
Point Park also had to deal with four Oakland City corner kicks the second half although they did not get any of their own. The foul count for the game had Point Park with 10 and Oakland City with just one.
Point Park steps out of conference play next Wednesday, Sept. 22 at home versus Washington Adventist. Kickoff is 6:00 p.m. at Highmark Stadium. River States Conference play continues next weekend at home versus Carlow on Sept. 25 (10:00 a.m.) at Highmark.
Oakland City will return home with a 1-1 RSC record. That's after starting out with a 3-2, double-overtime win at Carlow on Thursday. Carlow turned around and beat Brescia, 5-0, on Saturday to improve to 1-1 RSC.
