ANKENY, Iowa -- The Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles were fueled on at home today, taking a 3-1 win over the Sabercats at Pyche Field this afternoon.
Alayna Smith scored the only goal for the Sabercats with a second-half penalty kick, but the Eagles held on to win the first leg of the series, which will conclude next Saturday with a 1:00 kickoff in Watertown.
OVERVIEW
- Result: Maranatha 1-3 (RV) Faith
- Venue: Pyche Field, Faith Baptist Bible College
- Location: Ankeny, Iowa
- Attendance: 187
- Record: MBU (5-5-0), FBBC (9-3-0)
STORY
The Eagles were the better team in the opening minutes, as they poured the pressure on with first-half chances. Abigail Speichinger scored the first two goals for the Eagles, her first coming around the 20-minute mark. The Sabercats created a couple of chances to level the pegging, but Faith held the 1-0 halftime lead.
Speichinger struck again just five minutes into the second half, and the Sabercats' only response of the day was a penalty kick five minutes later. Smith stepped up with aplomb, burying her shot into the corner to make it a 2-1 game.
But Faith wouldn't be denied. Their incessant pressure culminated with a well-worked corner kick play in the 69th minute, where Kristin Yuan smashed a volley into the top corner to conclude the scoring.
After a hard-fought contest, the Eagles took a well-deserved win from their home field for their ninth win of the season, and a winning start to the series for the 2024 campaign.
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Maranatha Starters: 0- Dodd, 3- Cansler, 4- Wilson, 5- Graham (C), 8- Bishop, 9- Prigge (C), 13- Schmidt (C), 14- Dargy, 15- Metcalf, 16- Paez, 20- Herrera
STATS
- Shot Count: Maranatha 9-31 Faith
- Smith: fourth goal of the season, now leads the team with 14 points
- Chloe Dodd: made 10 saves in the loss
- Last time: Faith won 5-0 at home and 1-0 in Watertown last year
- Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 9-8-1
OPPONENTS
- Faith competes in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association North Region (Dll)
- Faith recently received votes in the NCCAA Top 5 Coaches' Poll
- Faith lost to Crown in the first round of the 2023 NCCAA North Region Tournament
NEXT
The Sabercats travel to Ripon on Tuesday night for a 7:15 p.m. kickoff. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.
