Central women’s soccer squad ties in first conference match

Central College

PELLA — The Central College women’s soccer team tied with conference-opponent Simpson College Saturday 2-2 in double overtime at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex soccer field.

Playing with only 10 players after a 38th-minute red card, the Dutch (2-8-1 overall, 0-0-1 conference) managed to score the first goal in the second half. Forward Alayna Bailey (senior, Des Moines, Hoover HS) dribbled through the defense and scored in the 65th minute. The Storm responded and scored three minutes later, tying the game 1-1.

“Playing a man down for the majority of the game wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t be more pleased by the grit they showed,” said coach Mike Kobylinski. “I thought we had the game and that we did enough to sneak out a win.”

Forward Britt Hinton (junior, Davenport, West HS) found the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute, scoring Central’s final goal. Another Simpson goal in the final minutes of the game pushed the contest into overtime, but after trading shots in extra time, neither team found an advantage.

Central outpaced Simpson (7-2-1, 0-0-1 conference) in the shooting battle, 21-17, including an 8-3 first period. Freshman Sydney Lunardi (Davenport, Davenport Assumption HS) played 110 minutes in goal and made seven saves.

“Our backline played phenomenal, and Jackie Bell (defender, junior, Johnston, Dowling Catholic HS) had a great game,” Kobylinski said. “Our defense faced a lot of pressure and stayed in the game. I couldn’t be happier with the leadership shown on the field. We need to regroup and get ready for Dubuque next week.”

The Dutch face off against the University of Dubuque (7-2 overall, 0-1 conference) at Dubuque Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.