Houghton Women’s Soccer
Team Earns Fifth Straight National Tournament Berth
The Houghton College women's soccer team wins the NAIA Region IX title.
Box Score
Mount Vernon, Ohio—The
Houghton College women’s soccer team beat host Mount Vernon Nazarene
University 2-0 Saturday afternoon to win the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) Region IX title and earn an automatic
invitation to the NAIA national tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“I didn’t
think we’d do it this year, said David Lewis, Highlanders head coach, whose
team has now reached the national tournament in five straight seasons and
eight of the last ten years, “but the women really worked hard.”
Mount
Vernon Nazarene dominated the first half Saturday afternoon, and it looked
as if the Cougars would be the ones packing for Florida. The Cougars
out-shot Houghton 10-4 and goalkeeper Lauren Foster was forced to make three
saves. The Highlanders avoided giving up a score, though, and it was 0-0 at
halftime. “I was a little concerned after the first half,” Lewis admitted.
It
didn’t take long for the Highlanders to ease his worries. Less than three
minutes into the second half, Hannah Swift scored on an assist from Rebecca
Smith to give the Highlanders the lead.
It wasn’t
an artistic goal. Smith’s long ball bounced in the area and Swift beat
goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen to the ball and sent it towards net. It was
deflected and dribbled in. “I don’t think it even reached the back of the
net,” Lewis said, “It was one of those where you’re asking everyone ‘Did it
go in?’” It did.
In the 62nd
minute the Highlanders added an insurance goal. Mandy Lewandowski’s corner
kick wasn’t cleared effectively and Amy-Kaye Mitchell was able to head it in
from the six for the game’s final goal.
“In the
second half we played much better,” Lewis said, “We limited their shots and
created good opportunities.”
The game
ended with the Lady Cougars holding a 14-9 lead in shots, while the
Highlanders had three corners to Mount Vernon’s one. Loewen had three saves,
Foster five.
The
Highlanders are now 12-2-3, while Mount Vernon goes to 13-5-1. The Lady
Cougars, 25th in the NAIA’s most-recent rankings, will have to
wait until Monday to see if they receive an at-large bid to the national
tournament.
Photo credit: Dave Parsons, Mount Vernon
Nazarene University sports information director
Houghton College
has deep
and
solid
roots in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, where our
teams use their commitment to excellence, both on the field-of-play
and
in the classroom, as a platform for their strong and
unique emphasis on Sports Ministry. Their goal is to make a difference
for the Kingdom
on campus, in Allegany County,
in the Northeast and
around
the world.
Houghton is one of only 13 institutions who have been hand-selected
by the NAIA to serve as "Champions of Character" Program Centers, opening the door
for Houghton to be a leader,
both in the Northeast and
nationally, in character education.
Through hands-on,
innovative community outreach initiatives, Houghton coaches and
student-athletes
are working together to change the culture of sport and
to change our culture through sport.
