ATCHISON, Kan. -- No. 6 Benedictine (Kan.) scored three early goals and added a fourth before the John Brown women's soccer team could respond, as the Ravens collected a 5-2 victory over the Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the BC Soccer Complex.
Freshman Anna Brown scored her first collegiate goal in the 31st minute and freshman Jastin Redman notched her team-leading third of the season just over a minute later, but JBU (1-3-0) couldn't muster any more offense as the hosts held a 26-6 shooting advantage in the match.
Tori Sanders scored just 40 seconds in the match off a free kick from Liz Intfen. Benedictine continued to assault the Golden Eagle net and junior keeper Hannah Poor, and tacked on a pair of goals before the 16-minute mark of the first half.
The Ravens extended the lead to 4-0 in the 29th minute when Ashley Chandler cleaned up her initial shot off the crossbar, knocking home the rebound past Poor.
John Brown finally retaliated, however, just two minutes later in the 31st minute. Redman sent a corner kick into the Benedictine box, which found Brown's body cutting across the field 10 yards out. The low, hard service ricocheted off Brown and past BC keeper Ellen Loughman to place the Golden Eagles on the board.
Just over a minute later, freshman Anne Metz was tackled at the inside edge of the box, which resulted in a penalty kick opportunity. Redman calmly fired a shot to the top right corner, cutting BC's lead in half, 4-2.
The half would end with the Ravens holding a 13-4 shooting advantage. Compared to the six goals scored in the first stanza, the second half featured only one strike.
Olivia Myers put the game out of reach for JBU in the 69th minute when she finished a top-corner blast from Rosie McShane and Liz Enna, producing the final 5-2 score.
"Today was a tough one and we faced a very good Benedictine team," said head coach Kathleen Paulsen. "We did some things well and can take some positives away, but we also have a lot to improve on over the next couple of weeks. We'll learn from our mistakes and take steps forward."
Poor (1-2-0) recorded a career-high 12 saves in the loss and provided key blocks throughout the match in the loss. JBU finished the contest with two shots on goal, both goals, so neither Loughman nor backup Adrienne Korson was credited with a save in the win.
Redman and junior Sara Lachance each finished with two shots while Brown and freshman Melody Hagen provided the other two. Chandler led all players with six shots as five Ravens tallied three shots or more in the contest.
John Brown will return to action on Thursday when it welcomes No. 15 Grace (Ind.) to Alumni Field for the second game in the annual John Brown University Invitational. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Sports on 09/09/2015