TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Fightin' Engineers had their work cut out for them as they went up against the defending national champions in the #1 WashU Bears. Rose-Hulman put up a tremendous fight, where they came up short by a score of 2-0.
Sophomore
Alicia Gonzalez made an immediate impact for Rose-Hulman as she recorded back-to-back saves three minutes into the match. She added another diving sick off a corner kick in the 11th minute to keep the Bears off the board.
WashU earned another corner kick five minutes later, and their crossed connected with Ashle Reese. Reese headed a shot on goal from point blank range, but she would be denied by Gonzalez once again, as she caught her shot on goal.
The Fightin' Engineers would respond with a 21st minute shot on goal, where senior
Riley Heasley's shot from way outside the box was saved by Suzie Green.
In the 39th minute, Grace Lynch would make a downfield pass to Madison Foley, who timed her run perfectly to just escape an offsides call. She would find herself in a one-on-one fastbreak, where her shot found the back of the net to put the Bears up 1-0.
Junior
Sydnee Schuler drew a foul in the 61st minute, rewarding Rose-Hulman with a free kick. Senior
Ally Smith fired a shot up high towards the goal, which was deflected away on a jumping save.
Gonzalez added a one handed save of her own in the 66th minute, as she deflected a shot away from Emily Fox.
WashU was able to score their second goal in the 77th minute, as Fox tapped in an assist from Foley and Grace Harper to put the team up 2-0.
Gonzalez hauled in three more saves across the final ten minutes of the game, finishing with a career-high ten saves. She accumulated a save percentage of 83.3%, while allowing just two goals against a team that entered the match averaging 10.7 goals per game.
Rose-Hulman will be back in action on Tuesday, September 15 as they face Webster on the road. The game will kick off at 7:30 PM in St. Louis, Mo.
