ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Sukhmani Shergill scored her first collegiate goal on Sunday afternoon as the University of Indianapolis women's soccer team grabbed a 1-0 road win over conference-foe Lewis. With the win, the Hounds improve to 2-3-3 on the season and 1-1-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds produced the first goal of the match in just the 13th minute on a combination by two freshman newcomers. Gaining control of the ball on the far right side of the field near the corner flag,
Chloe Noon floated a cross towards the net which forced the Lewis goalkeeper to come out and defend. With the ball skipping past the keepers gloves, Shergill met the ball on the other side and produced her first collegiate goal in the process.
After one half of play, each team managed a total of six shots and had five fouls apiece. UIndy goalkeeper
Makenna Nickens recorded three saves to help keep the Flyers off the board.
Each team continued to try and gain the upper hand in the second half, with the Flyers producing five total shots and the Greyhounds three through the final 45 minutes. However, the goal by Shergill in the opening frame proved to be the difference maker as the Hounds defense held strong in the conference victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Lewis led the game with 11 shots while UIndy managed nine.
-The Flyers committed a game-high 11 fouls while the Hounds had six.
-In total, UIndy collected three yellow cards in the match.
-Nickens picks up the clean sheet after collecting four saves.
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Holly Cox on the Sunday win...
"Good road win, Sunday games are always tough to get a result, it's just about grit and grinding out a result, it's not always the prettiest soccer. It's about having a little bite in your play and finding a way to win. The ladies did a good job today."
Cox on the goal by the offense today...
"We did a better job of being patient on how we build an attack, we played through our midfield, we looked to connect passes rather than go forward directly. We allowed more people to get involved into the attack, we used our eights a little bit more, we used our outside backs a little bit more. It was a better all-around team effort on being a bit more patient, being able to take care of the ball and build the attack and put ourselves in dangerous areas to get more shots on goal, to be more dangerous in the final third."
Cox on Nicken's development...
"She organizes, she's vocal and she's not afraid to have the ball at her feet which is great because that allows us to use her to maintain possession. One thing that stood out to me in the game is she came up really big with a punch on a corner kick, she's brave, she's brave in the seams, she's brave in the aerial game. I always think when you have a goalkeeper that is confident in the air, it gives the back line confidence, it gives the team confidence to have someone back there on set pieces."
UP NEXT
The Hounds are set to return to Key Stadium on Friday, Sept. 30 to battle Quincy beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
