LEXINGTON, Va. - The Radford Highlanders scored twice in the first half to take a lead they would not relinquish, en route to a 3-0 win over the VMI Keydets in Big South women's soccer action Tuesday at Patchin Field. The contest was VMI's (3-15, 1-10 Big South) season finale, while Radford (14-2-1, 10-1 BSC) clinched the regular season title and will be the Big South's top seed in the conference tournament beginning Friday.
Despite a scrappy VMI defense that was packed in most of the day, RU got goals from Melanie Priestley and Rachel Conway in the first half, coming in the 10th and 38th minutes respectively. The visitors finished the day with a 21-10 edge in shots, as the Keydets played a solid second half and posted nine shots in the last 45 minutes of their season.
Lexi Denny capped the Highlander scoring with a header in the 65th minute.
After deliberate midfield play for several minutes to start the contest, Radford struck in the 10th minute. Asyia Mitchell sent in a 25-yard shot that clanged off the crossbar and fell to the feet of VMI goalkeeper Liz Nickerson. Neither Nickerson, another VMI player nor a Highlander could control the ball until Priestly did so, tipping it into the net for a goal and a 1-0 RU lead.
RU controlled possession for the next several minutes, forcing Nickerson to make saves in the 19th and 21st minutes before adding on in the 38th. Lauren Hicks sent a ball from 40 yards into the middle of the field, and from near 20 yards out, Conway converted to make it 2-0, RU.
That was the score at halftime, as the Highlanders held a 11-1 edge in shots and held VMI without a shot on goal. The Keydets came out a bit more offensive-minded, however, getting off shots in the 52nd and 54th minutes. RU countered with a narrow miss in the 58th minute, when Micaela Filsoof hit the far post on a cutting shot from 12 yards out.
Denny then tacked on the match's final goal, a header on a cross that came from 20 yards out and accounted for the final margin, 3-0. Cate Weaver sent in the cross and Torrie Jackson was also credited with an assist.
The Keydets kept up the effort in the final moments, getting off six shots in the final 26 minutes, including a near-miss by Nicole Blixt in the waning seconds and a 70th minute shot on goal by Lizzy Cotter, but could not find the scoreboard as their season came to a close.
"I've said this all season, but I'm proud of the effort that they've put into this campaign and we saw more of it today against a great team, and possible conference champion," said VMI head coach Bryan Williams. "I'm just very proud of the effort. We got exploited on something I had seen and we talked about, the long shots, and they capitalized on those. We played great defense inside, however. Liz Nickerson and her back line - Emily Adams, Sarah Putney, Bridgette Pouliot and Erica Putney - did a great job of picking up and putting everything they had into stopping RU's attack. I also felt very good about Allie Segura, Sam Boney and Sydnie Bligh in their midfield roles. They made it tough for Radford to open us up. In the second half, we took an unfortunate goal early, but in the later parts of the half, multiple players created some great chances to score and consistently pressed forward. We improved over our effort Saturday against Campbell and again, showed great effort."
The Big South All-Conference selections will be announced in the next several days. Stay with VMIKeydets.com for any Keydet-related information during that process.
