SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Sweet Briar College soccer team (0-5-3, 0-3 ODAC) fell to the Shenandoah University Hornets (7-3-0, 1-2-0), 7–1, on Wednesday evening at Meyer Field.
The Vixens battled through a difficult opening half and found a second-half breakthrough from senior
Alexis Diaz (Connelly Springs, N.C.) in the home match.
Shenandoah struck early, taking a 1–0 lead in the fourth minute. The Hornets added a second goal at 7:11 before Sweet Briar created its first chance of the night in the 18th minute, when sophomore
Elena Fomin (Middlesex County, Va.) put a shot on frame that the Shenandoah goalkeeper stopped.
The visitors extended their advantage with a goal at 19:55. Sweet Briar first-year goalkeeper
Arianna Nguyen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) made three saves during her 28:09 in net, before junior
Kylee Nickerson (Waterford, Mich.) entered the match.
Sweet Briar continued to generate opportunities late in the opening half. Fomin again tested the Hornets' keeper in the 26th minute, while senior
Emily Michel (Centennial, Colo.) and junior
Yadira Castrejon (Connelly Springs, N.C.) each put shots on goal later in the period. Shenandoah, however, added four more first-half goals and carried a 7–0 advantage into halftime.
Nickerson delivered a standout performance after halftime, making 14 of her 18 total saves in the second period. She stopped shots as Sweet Briar worked to limit Shenandoah's second-half opportunities.
The Vixens found their reward in the 71st minute. After Michel sent a shot toward goal and Sweet Briar earned a corner kick, Diaz put a shot on target in the 68th minute. Diaz then broke through at 70:08, scoring Sweet Briar's goal to make the score 7–1.
Highlights
- Diaz's goal was the first by a Sweet Briar player against Shenandoah since 2019.
- Nickerson set a new single-game career-high save total.
What's Next
The Vixens will host Bridgewater for their Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Oct. 3rd.
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