Score: No. 8 Keiser Seahawks 5, Webber International Warriors 0
Records: No. 8 Keiser (1-0), Webber International (0-1)
Location: Warrior Grass Field, Babson Park, Fla.
After finally being able to kick off their season, the No. 8 Keiser women's soccer team wasted no time putting the pressure on their Sun Conference foes, Webber International, in Babson Park, Fla.
Lina Gröbner opened the scoring from a corner kick in the 10th minute that she curled into the back of the net.
Maria Vilhena,
Lauren Riley,
Ramona Kannady, and
Valeria Schiavo all followed with goals of their own to begin the 2024 campaign with a bang.
The Seahawks will now turn their attention to the annual Orange Beach, Alabama trip where they will square off with No. 2 William Carey and No. 3 Tennessee Southern on September 6 and September 8, respectively.
- Keiser's first major chance of the game came in the fifth minute after Gröbner whipped in a free-kick to the near post, forcing a save from Juliana Grider
- Four minutes later, Georgia Little placed a corner kick to the back post where Lauren Riley headed it to the top corner, but Grider somehow was there to make the save again
- Gröbner would take the ensuing corner kick and place it perfectly into the opposite side netting to give the Seahawks their first goal of the season
- KU nearly doubled the advantage in the 12th minute with a well-placed cross from Riley finding Emilia Nilsson at the back post, but another miraculous save by Grider kept the shot away
- Webber would get their best chance of the game in the 20th minute, but Maude Rouanet would step up in the 1-on-1 situation and parry the shot away from danger
- In the 28th minute, Iðunn Rán Gunnarsdóttir sent a ball over the back of the Warriors' defense allowing Vilhena to chip the keeper and put Keiser ahead 2-0
- The Seahawks continued to pressure through the remainder of the half, forcing three yellow cards from Webber and maintaining their 2-0 lead at the break
- Keiser broke through again in the 55th as Ida Palm played a ball over the back line of the Warriors which played Riley into a 1-on-1 opportunity that she finished to give Keiser a 3-0 advantage
- In the 68th minute, Gröbner proved dangerous again from the corner, this time opting for a ground cross that Julia Forslund wisely let pass through her legs, allowing Ramona Kannady a wide-open chance that she buried into the back of the net to make it 4-0
- Valeria Schiavo would join the scoring party in the 86th minute after Nilsson delivered a perfect cross that Schiavo placed into the net for her first-career tally
- Nynka Rucker nearly scored a goal of the season contender in the waning minutes, brushing off the first defender and nutmegging the next before going around a third, but Grider made another spectacular save to end the game
- Keiser improved to 15-3-2 in season openers with the win
- The Seahawks are now 26-2 all-time against Webber
- 10 players made their debut on Thursday including five opening day starters
- Gröbner and Schiavo tallied their first collegiate goals of their careers in the win
- Riley nabbed goal number 21 of her career while Kannady slotted number 32
- Nilsson and Gunnarsdottir each notched an assist on the day along with Gröbner who led the team with three points
- Rouanet was not called on often but did have to make a pair of crucial saves to secure her third solo shutout
- The Seahawks outshot the Warriors 26-4 on the day
The Seahawks will now turn their attention to the annual Orange Beach, Alabama trip where they will square off with No. 2 William Carey and No. 3 Tennessee Southern on September 6 and September 8, respectively.
Get the latest information on the team by following keiserwomenssoccer on Instagram and Keiser_WSoccer on Twitter.
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