Lovik saves the day for Simpson

INDIANOALA, Iowa – Madison Densmore scored the lone goal, Kara Lovik made a game-saving play on defense and the Simpson women's soccer team sweated out a 1-0 win over Grinnell on Wednesday night at Buxton Stadium.

Leading 1-0 in the 72^nd minute, goalkeeper Megan Petersen got caught near the top of the box as Sarah Jensen headed toward the frame. Jensen maneuvered around Petersen and appeared to have a golden scoring opportunity.

Lovik made sure the Storm (2-1) held on to the 1-0 lead, hustling behind the play and deflecting the ball away from the net with her left leg, leaving an unsuspecting Jensen stunned.

"That play flat-out saved the game," third-year head coach Ryan Sander said. "She [Lovik] has been the heart and soul of this team so far this season, and that play was a perfect example of her value to this team."

That play gave Lovik the unofficial assist on Megan Petersen's 14^th-career shutout. With her clean sheet on Sunday against Bethel – her 13^th – Petersen moved into second on Simpson's career list, behind Whitney Franker's 24.

Despite being outshot 10-5 by the Pioneers (0-0-1), Simpson needed only one corner kick opportunity to get on the board.

Densmore made the most of the team's only corner kick of the night when she flicked a header off a perfectly placed serve from Kate Morford in the 21^st minute. Densmore headed the offering out of the air and played it off the turf and into the net for the game's only score.

"Tonight was another good all-around effort from our entire team," Sander said. "It's good to see different players stepping up every game."

Simpson enters the fourth leg of its five-game homestand Saturday, Sept. 8 when it hosts Millikin in a 5 p.m. kickoff.