BANNER ELK, N.C. — Addison Rishling scored in the 12th minute and the Tusculum University defense kept Lees-McRae College off the board to earn a 1-0 victory in non-conference women’s soccer Wednesday afternoon.
Angel Chase made five saves in goal to earn the shutout for the Pioneers (1-2-0), who were outshot 11-7 by the Bobcats (1-2-0) but came away with their first victory of the 2024 season.
Rishling’s goal, the second in three matches for the Tusculum freshman, allowed the Pioneers to snap a 10-match road winless streak (0-8-2) dating to a 2-0 win at Asbury on Oct. 19, 2022.
The Pioneers had the first three shot attempts of the match in the first nine minutes, but Bobcat keeper Chiara Coppin made saves on Marja Enste in the sixth minute, Adriana Netskos in the seventh minute and Tanna Bookhamer in the ninth minute.
Lees-McRae’s first shot came in the 11th minute, but the attempt from Ivy Cagno was stopped by Chase. Less than a minute later, Sydney Grant carried down the right side and crossed for Rishling, who beat Coppin at 11:08.
Chase would keep the lead at 1-0 by making saves on Lexi Hanson in the 17th minute, Haley Lowman in the 26th minute and Kylie Gutierrez in the 37th minute. The Pioneers nearly went up 2-0 late in the half, but a shot from Enste in the 43rd minute went off the crossbar.
Neither team had a shot on goal for most of the second half, but the Pioneers nearly got an insurance tally in the 84th minute as Grant broke in behind the defense but slipped a shot just wide of the post. Chase made her only save of the second half in the 87th minute on a long attempt from Cagno.
Coppin finished with three saves for the Bobcats, who also had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks over the Pioneers. Lees-McRae was whistled for 16 fouls to nine for Tusculum, while the Pioneers were flagged twice for offsides.
The Pioneers will return home to host Shaw in a non-conference match on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Bears are off to a 1-1-0 start, including a 3-1 win over Carolina University in their last match.
