The Basics

Score: Evangel 1, (11) John Brown 5 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (0-1-0), John Brown (1-0-0)

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Coryell Field)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Valor Women's Soccer began their season at home on Saturday against a tough John Brown team, currently ranked number 11 in the nation.

The Golden Eagles brought a fast pace to the game that proved evident when they scored their first goal at the 8:24 mark of the first period on play to the left flank that was sent to the box and scored. Just a minute and a half later, JBU found the end of the net for another goal by Pam Seiler, making it 2-0 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Evangel was able to slow JBU's pace over the following 20 minutes and recorded a pair of shots on goal, but a foul in the box led to a penalty kick goal for JBU, ending all scoring in the first period. 

Kicking off the second period, the Golden Eagles tacked on another goal on an Evangel goal kick turnover. The Valor were able to continue their offensive push and put some pressure on the JBU goalie. Five minutes after JBU's fifth and final goal of the match, Anna Crain sailed an excellent pass to Dajah Boykin, who broke away from the defense and scored the Valor first goal of the season. The lone goal for Evangel ended the game in a 5-1 final score.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Boykin scored her first goal of the season off the feed from Crain, her first assist of the year.

• Chloe Hancock spent 79 minutes at goalie, saving 18 shots on 23 attempts.

• Crain finished her afternoon with three shots, two of which were on goal.

• Evangel mustered seven shots against the physical JBU defense, six more than their last matchup last season.

QUOTABLE

"Although we did not quite match up with the pace and physicality of JBU, which led to the overall result, I am very proud of how we performed overall against the 11th ranked team in the nation," Women's Soccer Head Coach Bruce Deaton stated. "We had some very sound moments of possession and attack, capped off by a brilliant score by Dajah that was assisted by Anna. The things we need to fix are not overwhelming and we learned a lot today about our team. This will pay huge dividends for us going into the rest of the non-conference schedule and when we start conference play!"

UP NEXT

Evangel will take a few days off before competing in St. Louis, Mo., against Stephens College next Wednesday (Aug. 24) at 6:00 p.m.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.  

—#OneValor—