Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

No. 2 CWRU Women’s Soccer Defeats No. 5 Misericordia 2-0 in Top-Five Showdown

No. 2 CWRU Women’s Soccer Defeats No. 5 Misericordia 2-0 in Top-Five Showdown
Posted: Sep 08, 2023

From Case Western Reserve University Athletics

In a battle of top five nationally ranked teams, the second-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team prevailed over fifth-ranked Misericordia University 2-0 on Friday night at Mangelsdorf Field in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

The Spartans improved to 3-0-0 on the season with the win in the first-ever matchup between the two teams, while the Cougars fell to 2-1-0. CWRU extended its regular season non-conference winning streak to 36 matches, while the loss was the first in the regular season for Misericordia since September 29, 2021, a streak of 31 consecutive matches.

First-year defender Maya Healy broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with her first career goal.  Sophomore forward Alexis Sassower sent in a corner kick toward the far post. Healy was there to head the ball, but her shot hit the crossbar. She collected the rebound at her feet and shot the ball into the back of the net to put CWRU ahead 1-0.

The score remained the same until the 65th minute, when junior forward Carolyn Koutures doubled the Spartan lead with her second goal of the season. A free kick from about 50 yards out from senior forward Aniya Hartzler reached the head of senior forward Helina VanBibber inside the six-yard box. Koutures was on the other end of the header on the far post and shot the ball low her left foot into the corner of the goal to make the score 2-0. VanBibber was credited with her first assist of the season and the ninth of her career.

Case Western Reserve kept Misericordia off the board for the remainder of the contest, not allowing even a shot on goal in the final 55 minutes of play.

In goal, senior goalkeeper Maggie Storti saved two shots to earn her second shutout of the season and the 20th of her career. She is now tied for second in program history in career shutouts, one behind the program record of 21.

Overall, CWRU outshot Misericordia 7-6 with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. Sassower had a team-high three shots, all on target, and Koutures added two shots on goal.