BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's soccer team used three second-half goals and stingy goalkeeping to earn a 3-0 win over Centenary (N.J.) College on Saturday afternoon on the HUB Quad.
The Greyhounds (3-3) backed the Cyclones into a corner, both literally and figuratively. All three Moravian goals were scored off corner kick plays within a six-minute timeframe in the second half of play. Junior forward Kirsten Schall, the team's corner kick specialist, found the foot of sophomore midfielder Catherine Lamplugh in the 56th minute. Lamplugh scored the eventual game-winner with a finesse shot that found the back of the net.
In the 59th minute, Schall's bending ball found the head of 5-foot-8 freshman defender Christine Miklas, who powered a header into the side netting for a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Miklas scored her second-career goal when a corner kick led to an open shot, which the rookie buried with a powerful inside-of-the-foot rocket.
"She was our player of the game today," head coach Brienne Smith said of Miklas. "She added a lot to our attack, but she played out of her mind out of the back today. She's starting to recognize when she needs to step in and win balls, and she's doing it with authority. She's winning tackles and is playing with a lot of confidence. I knew this was going to happen, I just thought she would need a freshman year to settle in. To see it six games in is a really good thing for this program."
Miklas is usually a shutdown defender, but was called up on corner kicks thanks to her height advantage. The freshman gave credit to her teammate, Schall, for finding her with two perfect corner kicks.
"I wasn't sure if the ball was going to come to me," Miklas said of her first-career collegiate goal. "I went up for the header and I was actually kind of shocked when I saw it in the back of the net. I do love that I get to go forward on corner kicks. I get to be up there because of my height, but it's fun to be on both ends sometimes."
Miklas was certainly ecstatic with her contributions to the win, but the rookie quickly looked at the big picture after hearing her head coach's comments on her play Saturday.
"It was a tough game," Miklas said. "They were a good team, but we ended up outplaying them and we wanted the ball more and wanted the win more, and that helped us in the end. Hearing what Coach said adds to my confidence. I won't let it go to my head, though, because I still do make some mistakes. I have a lot to work on, but I just have to move on and keep working hard."
Miklas' hard work on Saturday helped the Greyhounds get out to a big lead, which was held by goalkeepers Genevieve Chaleff and Jacqueline Zalis. The sophomore Zalis was credited with her first win between the posts after entering the game at halftime. Chaleff made six saves in the first half, while Zalis stopped three shots. The sophomore also faced a Centenary penalty kick with 10 minutes left in the game.
"She must have scared the girl because she knocked it wide," Smith said. "She had it covered by diving the right way. It was a great effort from both of them. They didn't see a lot, but they were on when they needed to be."
The 3-0 win over the Cyclones was the second straight team shutout by Chaleff and Zalis. Going forward, those results help build confidence and momentum heading into a tough non-conference match at Elizabethtown College on Wednesday.
"For the first time all year, we won a game that we played very well in," Smith said. "We played well in games that haven't gone our way. We played our style of soccer and that was great to see. We've been working very hard on that style, and to see it click today is a really good thing moving forward."
The win moved the Greyhounds to a .500 record for the first time this season heading into five straight games away from Bethlehem. Moravian returns to the HUB Quad on October 9 for a non-conference match with Penn State University-Berks.
