WESTFIELD, Ind. - McKendree University women's soccer closed out its opening match of the 2021 season in a tie with the Eagles of Ashland University. The Bearcats will look to nab the first victory of the season in their home opener on Sunday against Missouri S&T. 

The Bearcats entered the day with hopes of a neutral site victory but had struggled to gain footing early on in the match. in the first half, McKendree was out shot 4-2 with sophomore midfielder Anna Stiffler (O'Fallon, Missouri) and senior midfielder Riley Ross (Springfield, Illinois) both firing one at the opposing goalkeeper. The first half ended with a null to null score and only six total shots. 

Half number two led to both offenses coming alive and totaling 12 shots between the teams. Striking first in the 56th minute was Ashland forward McKinley Mendenhall, pushing the Eagles into the lead but only for a short period of time. The Bearcats forced the game into a tie with a goal in the 68th minute via a quick strike following their own throw in. The one and only lead of the game lasted for less than 12 minutes of game time. The tying-goal for McKendree was fired through the Ashland defense by junior midfielder Allison Frederking (Weldon Springs, Missouri) with the assist coming from freshman forward Gillian Nicholson (Cottleville, Missouri). The goal marks Frederking's second career goal and the Bearcats' first this season. Frederking's first goal came against Drury in the spring 2021 season, a game which McKendree won, 2-1. The assist by the freshman Nicholson was the first of her career as she saw her first collegiate action. 

The two teams were neck and neck nearly the entire way to the finish, with Ashland out-shooting the Bearcats, 12-6, but McKendree sending more attempts on-frame, 4-2. The match did prove to be a physical battle, as McKendree was called for 15 fouls and Ashland four more but cards were avoided. Ashland was also able to hold the advantage in the corners with four corner kicks compared to McKendree's two. 

NOTES:

McKendree extends its unbeaten streak to five games, dating back to last spring where they dropped a battle with UMSL late in the season (04/09/2021). The Bearcats recovered a week later on April 16 with a win over Southern Indiana. 

Junior midfielder Allison Frederking scored her second career goal, tying the match with Ashland in the 68th minute. Her first goal came against Drury (03/26/2021) in a 2-1 victory over the Panthers.

Freshman forward Gillian Nicholson recorded her first collegiate action and her first career assist in the game-tying goal. 

The Bearcats prevented the revenge tour by the Eagles as the last time these programs met was in the 2019 NCAA Tournament (11/22/2019). McKendree won that contest 1-0 in a single period of overtime.


UP NEXT:
McKendree women's soccer opens up its home schedule with a non-confernce match versus GLVC-foe Missouri S&T at Leemon Field on Sunday, September 5 at 12:00 P.M.


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