PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Ripon College's Alyssa Klementzos scored the first and only goal of the match in the 68th minute and the Lakeland University women's soccer team was defeated 1-0 in its season opener Tuesday night at John Taylor Memorial Field.
The Muskies competed throughout despite a disadvantage in possession but were defeated in the debut for first-year head coach
Alexander Pagonis. Lakeland and Ripon played a close match for the second straight year, with the Red Hawks gaining a slight edge this time after the teams played to a 1-1 tie last year.
The Klementzos goal came in a quick attack following a Ripon throw-in just past midfield. Defender Hailie Trochinski chipped a pass ahead to Klementzos, who won the ball in the air, collected and fired a shot with the left foot from 25 yards out just out of reach of Muskies goalkeeper
Ingrid Steinbock (
Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) and into the upper right corner.
Klementzos cashed in on one of her six shot attempts in the match, and less than a minute after an even better opportunity, when her shot from outside the 18-yard box went out of reach and just high of the goal. Steinbock was credited with a deflection for a save, one of her 16 saves in the match.
Lakeland finished with just one shot attempt, but it was a quality chance.
Taytum Theobald (
Sr.-Howards Grove, Wis.) played a pass near midfield to the middle to
Malaya Sperber (
Jr.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) that was contested and initially played back by the Red Hawks.
Ines Rodriguez (
Sr.-Newark, Calif.) came back to win the ball in the midfield and passed to
Emily Guy (
Sr.-Glendale Heights, Ill.), who played a ball ahead on the right side to Sperber. The Muskies forward then split two defenders and got off a shot just outside the goal area but right at the feet of Ripon goalkeeper Kaitlan Adkins, bouncing away past the end line for a corner kick.
Ripon finished with a 23-1 advantage in shot attempts in the match. Seven Muskies played the full 90 minutes, including Steinbock plus the back defensive line of Guy plus three freshmen,
Alana Mrotek (
Luxemburg, Wis.),
Kaitlyn Taylor (
Simi Valley, Calif.) and
Sam Walkowski (
Bellevue, Wis.).
Lakeland plays on the road for the first time this season for its next match Friday when it faces Monmouth College at 5 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill.
