Seniors lead dominant performance in Lady Miner finale

Stephanie Schmucker

The final home game of the season turned into a showcase for the five Lady Miner seniors who were playing on the home pitch for the last time, as UMR shut out William Woods 3-0 Friday night at the UMR Soccer Field.

Danielle Lyman had a goal and an assist, Maggie Thompson had a goal and Brittany Parker, who on Thursday was named as the first team goalkeeper in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, got help from defenders Stephanie Schmucker and Emily O'Nan to post a combined shutout with Catherine Swift.

Lyman earned her assist on the first Lady Miner goal at the 17:56 mark, as she made a cross that Janine Einhellig headed in. Einhellig returned the favor just over 13 minutes later, as she sent a pass across the box for Lyman to redirect past Owl goalkeeper Kristen Antle.

At the 38:12 mark, Jaime Pierce made a pass through the defense to Thompson, who took off on a short breakaway and finished it with a shot to the far side of the net to give UMR a 3-0 advantage by halftime.

The Lady Miners were never really challenged by the Owls in the opening half as they held a 13-1 advantage in shots. Parker made the save on that shot and one in the second half before turning the game over to Swift with 28 minutes to go. Parker did play in the field for a period of time until each of the five Lady Miners seniors were brought out of the game one by one.

UMR finished the game with 17 shots to William Woods' six.

The Lady Miners finished the season with a 4-13-1 record but had four wins in their last five games. UMR was tenth in the 14-team Great Lakes Valley Conference with a 3-8-1 mark.