Pride strike first but Pioneers answer to earn 3-1 Saturday win

OLATHE, Kan. - In a rematch from the 2024 Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, the Clarke University women's soccer team was unable to exact their revenge in a 3-1 loss to MidAmerica Nazarene University on the road on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride were able to land the first blow very early in the game as an Onesty Lopez corner kick made its way towards the middle of the box where it would be deflected in by MNU goalkeeper Fiona Popetschnig to go into the back of the net to give CU a 1-0 lead nearly three minutes into the game.

Not long after the own goal, the Pioneers would strike back with the equalizer merely second later when Luna Etienne scored off of an assist from Tindra Jarl before the roles would reverse in the 11th minute for MNU when Jarl scored her sixth goal of the season on an Etienne assist to make it 2-1.

That lead would hold through halftime until about 15 minutes remaining in the game when Thayline Teixeira notched her sixth goal of the season and the third for MNU in the game to extend their lead to a two-goal advantage, where they would hold on for the victory.

Even though corner kicks were exactly even in each half and throughout the game, the Pride were only able to fire three total shots with only one going on goal outside of the own goal where the Pioneers took 20 shots towards CU keeper Faith Krapfl as the reigning Heart Defensive Player of the Week made 10 saves in the 13 shots on goal faced in an attempt to keep Clarke in the game, making nine of those 10 saves in between the second and third goals scored by MidAmerica Nazarene.

Lopez was one of seven members of the Pride field lineup to play 75 minutes or more with Lopez playing 81 minutes, Melony Jimenez playing 76 minutes, Abby Prunty getting an 82-minute assignment, Hailey Packer on the field for 83 minutes, and the defensive trio of Malia Silvers, Morgan Lock, and Liv Turnquist all on the field for full time of 90 minutes.

Clarke women's soccer will be off in the midweek once again before another game away from Dubuque when they hit the road for a Saturday, Oct. 11 matchup against Benedictine College for a 12:00 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff in Atchison, Kan.