The Pioneers got back in the win column on Wednesday afternoon defeating the Avila University Eagles 1-0.
MNU and Avila both entered the game looking to get a win to boost their conference play records. MNU came out in the first half the better of the two sides, but were unable to get past the Avila defense and go ahead in the game. Avila would not back down without a fight, and kept the Pioneers on their heels for the last 15 minutes of the first half, creating several dangerous opportunities.
MNU entered the second half trying to break the deadlock early. It did not take long for MNU to break the tie when forward
Hannah Benedict chased down a ball in the attacking half before passing to midfielder
Shelbi Durfee who found space at the top of the box. Durfee collected the ball and found forward
Taryn McClendon inside the box who beat an Eagle defender and placed the ball into the back of the net, putting the Pioneers up 1-0.
The MNU defense, backed by goalkeeper
Lexi Gochnauer, showed a strong performance once again, blanking the Eagles. Gochnauer was forced to make one save on the day, compared to the Eagles' 5. The Pioneers finished the game with 24 shots, 6 on target, compared to Avila's 4 shots, with 1 on target.
MNU is 6-4-1 (2-1 Heart). The next game is Saturday at home vs. Grand View (4-4-1, 2-1) at 1:00.
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