Central women fall to Dubuque on soccer pitch

PELLA — A pair of second-half goals from the University of Dubuque put Central College on the wrong side of a 3-1 women’s soccer loss Saturday.

Central (8-7-1, 2-5-0 American Rivers Conference) and Dubuque (8-8-0, 4-4-0 conference) were even at 1-1 through the first 45 minutes of the match. Dubuque put the match on ice with goals in the 67th and 76th minutes.

“It’s a tough loss today but we have been battling through the last few weeks as a mtea and today was no different,” coach Mike Kobylinski said. “We just lacked some moments in the match to keep the result.”

Paige Cahill (sophomore, midfielder, Castle Rock, Colo., Castle View HS) scored Central’s only goal in the 33rd minute.

The two teams were statistically matched in most categories, even on corner kicks and Dubuque having a slim 9-8 edge on shots.

Central honored its lone senior, Sydney Canney (defender, Adel, ADM HS), in a pre-game ceremony for Senior Day.

“She has been a loyal servant of this program for four years,” Kobylinski said. “She is someone who plays a lot and does a lot of the dirty work as a center back. We appreciate all she has done for the program.”

The Dutch wrap up the regular season with a Tuesday match against Buena Vista University at home. A win would likely clinch a spot in the American Rivers Conference tournament.

“We will now shift our focus to Buena Vista and finishing out the season strong,” Kobylinski said. “We are aware of the important of the match and are looking forward to the challenge. We still have a very good shot at getting in the postseason tournament. That’s all we’re hoping for, a shot.”