Kyle Keck | Echo
The Taylor women's soccer team made quick work of No. 23 Mount Vernon Nazarene in a 3-1 Senior Night win at home.
The game began with a bang with Mount Vernon scoring a goal in the first minute to take a 1-0 lead. Despite the first half deficit, Taylor found its groove in the second half, and the Trojans rediscovered their offensive game.
Head coach Scott Stan noticed the team's sudden spark.
"Though it was tough, we worked hard through the first half and didn't give up another goal," Stan said. "Then, we took over the pace of the game which shifted the second half momentum in our favor."
As the second half began, Taylor hunted for goals. Junior Emily Brydon mailed in a corner kick, which freshman Hadlee Yescott was able to stamp in for Taylor's first goal, knotting the score at 1-1.
Later in the half, freshman Megan Kammer seized the chance to make a 20-yard goal, giving Taylor a 2-1 lead.
"The girls helped set me up so well for my shot," Kammer said. "I wouldn't have been able to get the shot off had the girls not been pressing and causing the defenders to hesitate."
Not only did the goal give Taylor a late lead, but also gave the team reason to believe it could play with top-ranked opponents. Taylor (7-5-4) has squared off against four ranked teams thus far, netting a 1-2-1 record in those matchups. Taylor's performances against some of the NAIA's best teams gave Kammer confidence in her team.
"I think we showed that we should be in those rankings as well," Kammer said.
With a 2-1 lead and just minutes left in the match, Taylor wouldn't play conservatively. Just two minutes after Kammer's explosive goal, Brydon raced the length of the field and trickled a low ball across the box to give Yescott her second goal and Taylor a commanding 3-1 lead.
Brydon garnered two assists in the match, which gave her teammates the ammo they needed to hit their targets.
"During the game, I knew that somebody would be working hard to get on the other end of the ball that I was playing into the box," Brydon said. "And it created an opportunity for us to put the ball in the back of the net."
The Trojans will face No. 21 Grace College on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be the final match of the regular season as the team prepares for the Crossroads League Tournament.
"Since we knocked them [Grace] out of the tournament last year at their home field, I know they will want to beat us badly," Stan said. "But we will be coming into the game confident and playing well. With another win, we will get to host a first round playoff game, and we will fight hard to accomplish that."
Photograph by Josh Adams
