Finlandia 2, Yellowjackets 1
HANCOCK, Mich.: It was a quick turnaround for the Yellowjacket women's soccer team. Following Saturday's heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at home against Northwestern, the Yellowjackets were looking to get back into the win column Sunday afternoon against Finlandia.
Unfortunately the Lions had other ideas. Finlandia scored once in each half on the way to a 2-1 win over the Yellowjackets on a foggy and breezy afternoon in Hancock, Michigan.
The loss was the second straight for the Yellowjackets, while the win was the fifth of the season for Finlandia, setting a new record for the program.
Early on things looked good for the Yellowjackets, and they were able to turn the strong play early into a lead.
Annah Schussman (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) started the play, sending a pass to the right side and
Amanda Opalinski (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) finished it, scoring her first collegiate goal with a kick from the right to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 advantage. The goal came in the 15th minute of the opening half.
The lead didn't last long, however, as the Lions quickly drew even. Less than five minutes later a Yellowjacket foul resulted in a penalty kick, and Kirsten L'esperance scored to tie the game at 19:20.
Things stayed that way through the half and the Lions got the eventual game winning goal in the 58th minute. And again it was L'esperance, this time scoring from the left side to put the Lions ahead 2-1. After taking the lead Finlandia kept applying pressure on offense and defensively didn't give the Yellowjackets any strong opportunities to tie the match.
Morgan Philliber (Apple Valley, Minn./Edina) got the start in goal for the Yellowjackets and stopped four the five shots she faced. She was replaced in the second half by
Linnea Bollum (Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley), who stopped five of the six shots she saw. Shots in the match favored Finlandia 11-4.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (1-5-1, 1-2-0 U.M.A.C.) will return to action Wednesday, September 26 when they travel to Bethany Lutheran. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. in Mankato, Minnesota.
