BY RACHAEL WHITMAN
STAFF WRITER
Franciscan University’s Lady Barons soccer team dominated at home with a 7-0 win over the Muskingum Fighting Muskies on Sept. 17.
Less than three minutes into the game, sophomore forward Clare Kennedy scored first for the Lady Barons, playing in place of injured senior Hannah Cook.
Head Coach Clare McBane was impressed with Kennedy’s performance.
“Clare Kennedy is filling in a new spot,” McBane said. “She’s been training for center mit. She hasn’t been training for target, but, unfortunately, with Hannah Cook’s injury she’s had to step up and fill. She’s a very different player than Hannah, but she’s used her strengths to work for her in that position. I think that what she did gave us a lot of our offensive opportunities.”
In the first half, the Lady Barons scored two more goals within 21 seconds of each other.
In the second half, Franciscan put four more balls in the back of the net while, on the defensive end, freshman goalie Sarah Luebking did an excellent job warding off shots by the Muskies.
McBane also made a lot of substitutions in the second half, giving some of her starters a rest, and she was not disappointed with her substitutes’ performances.
“The level of play didn’t drop, and they kept having opportunities on goal, which is exciting as a coach to see,” McBane said. “To know that they still had the potential and ability to maintain a high level of play, even coming into the game in the second half.”
The seventh and last goal was scored by freshman Maria Boston with an assist from fellow freshman Elizabeth Dawyot.
Looking into the future, Mcbane has high hopes for her team.
“Our ultimate goal isn’t to win one game,” McBane said. “Our ultimate goal is to improve where we’ve been in the past, focusing on that and using the next competition to prepare for those harder conference games.”
The Lady Barons’ next game will be against the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford on Sept. 26 at 3:15 p.m.