SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Shepherd University (12-1-6) recorded a 4-0 win over #9 Gannon (16-3-2) in second-round action of the NCAA II Women's Soccer Atlantic Regionals at Shepherd on Sunday afternoon.
Shepherd took a 1-0 lead into the break when junior midfielder
Reagan Ackermann (Myersville, Md./Middletown/UNC Wilmington) scored on an assist from sophomore midfielder
Anaya Lozano (Chesapeake, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian School) at the 40:48 mark.
The Rams sealed the win with three second-half tallies.
Sophomore forward
Merritt Delk (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park/Toledo) scored on a pass from senior midfielder
Josie Beezel (Woodsboro, Md./Linganore) at the 69:50 mark to up the lead to 2-0.
Lozano scored on a feed from senior forward
Lydia Gable (Felton, Pa./Kennard Dale) at the 78:16 mark to make it 3-0.
Gable completed the scoring on an unassisted goal at the 80:16 mark.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Hannah Wilt (Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert) posted three saves in a shutout effort for the Rams. Morgan Sinan recorded one save for the Golden Knights.
Gannon had a 14-7 advantage in shots with Shepherd owning a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. The Golden Knights had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The first-seeded Rams return to action on Sunday when they face West Chester (15-2-4) in the Atlantic Regional Championship game. The second-seeded Golden Rams advanced with a 2-0 win over Fairmont State.
Notes: The Rams improved to 5-0-2 against ranked teams this season … Wilt posted her eighth shutout of the season … Wilt's shutout was the 19th of her career to break the previous Shepherd career mark of 18 held by Amy Bell (2004-08) ... the Rams improved to 3-1 in NCAA II Regional action.
Comments from Head Coach Sam Odell
I'm so proud of our team today for a great performance in the face of adversity today. Our girls were absolutely unbelievable. What a team, what a staff, what a group. We showed again what an intelligent and talented group we are, and the girls were formidable. Soccer was the real winner today, and our girls embody the beautiful game and how it should be played.
This group is obviously is extremely skilled on the field, but also showed incredible emotional maturity today - that of players far above their years. I'm an extremely proud coach!
