FAYETTE, Mo. -- The John Brown women's soccer team tied the match twice in the second half, but an untimely foul in the box awarded the hosts a penalty kick in the 75th minute, which proved to be the difference as the No. 16 Golden Eagles fell 4-3 at No. 8 Central Methodist (Mo.) on Saturday (Sept. 9) afternoon at Davis Field.
CMU's Alicia Zamora buried the penalty kick, securing the game-winner for the Eagles (4-1-0), while John Brown managed just one more shot on goal in the final 15 minutes of play. The two sides combined for five goals in the second half.
The Golden Eagles (4-1-0) tied the match twice in the second half despite falling into a 2-0 hole before the intermission. Celine Witt and Lacey Ann Murray each scored for CMU in the first period, in which the hosts out-shot JBU by a 9-3 margin.
Nearly single-handedly, senior Rachel Stone willed the Golden Eagles back into the match, scoring a brace just over five minutes apart to level the match at two apiece.
Stone now has three goals on the season through five matches, already matching her previous season-high goal total from a season ago.
In the 55th minute, sophomore Regan Riley's dropkick bounced through the midfield over a sea of players before Stone chested the free ball down to the floor. She then made one move, crossing over a defender, and proceeded to let go a 35-yard missile, which caught Candela Blanco Esteban off her line. The strike sailed over the unsuspecting keeper to halve the CMU lead.
Five minutes later, sophomore Lillian Johnson headed a ball forward up the right flank to senior Lauren Walter, who attacked toward the corner. Walter's low pass into the box found Stone in perfect position, and Stone one-touch chipped an absolute banger to the upper right corner of the goal for a 2-2 deadlock.
Jenna Brouwer returned the lead to the host side in the 70th minute when she went unmarked at the top of the box, where a pass found her for a 20-yard strike past Riley.
Just over a minute later, junior Grace Bishop battled up the right side and drew a hard foul from behind, producing a free kick for the Golden Eagles in prime real estate. Sophomore Aubrey Winter then delivered a 25-yard strike through Esteban's mitts to level the match for a second time for her second of the season.
Riley (4-1-0) ended the match with four saves and took her first loss of the season. Esteban required only two saves and escaped with the win despite allowing three goals on four chances in the second half.
The host Eagles outshot John Brown by a 16-7 margin, marking the first time in 2023 that John Brown has been outshot. CMU also enjoyed a 7-4 advantage in corner kick chances.
The Golden Eagles will take a week off before returning to the pitch on Saturday (Sept. 16) afternoon when it takes on William Woods (Mo.) at 2 p.m. in Fulton, Mo. JBU will stay in eastern Missouri for a little while longer and will then clash with No. 10 Columbia (Mo.) on Monday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.