TERRE HAUTE Ind. - Senior Haley O'Neil's first half goal lifted the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Earlham College in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play Wednesday, Oct. 22.
O'Neil goal came in the ninth minute when the Batavia, Ill., native broke through the Earlham defense and was tripped by Quaker goalkeeper, A.J. Johnson. O'Neil then converted the penalty kick, striking the ball in the bottom-right corner.
Rose-Hulman nearly notched a second goal in the 79th minute when junior Hayley Gilliam sent a cross to freshman Madeline Romeo who fired a one-timer off of the post.
Both teams took 10 shots in the contest. The Fightin' Engineers held the advantage in possession and corner kicks, earning eight while holding the Quakers to none.
Junior goalkeeper Lucinda Combs made eight saves in the contest. Aided by a strong performance from the Engineer defense, Combs notched her 10th shutout of the season along with the 29th of her career.
"We looked really good the first 20 minutes," head coach Amy Helliwell said. "We let up a little bit after scoring the goal. Earlham played well throughout the second half."
The Engineers improve to 10-3-1 with the victory including a 4-1-1 mark in HCAC play. Rose-Hulman returns to action Saturday, Oct. 25, for a 1 p.m. game at Hanover.
