Second-half rally pushes No. 25 Simpson past Wis.-Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The No. 25 Simpson College women's soccer team scored three goals in the second half to overcome its first halftime deficit of the season and defeat Wis.-Eau Claire 3-1 on the road.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blugolds (5-2-2) became the first team to score a first-half goal against Simpson (8-1) in the 37th minute as Sydney Spencer found the back of the net off an assist from Katlyn Byhre.
• The Storm came out of the break and quickly tied things up when Cassie Nash scored her seventh goal of the season just three minutes in.
• In the 69th minute, Nash drew a foul to set up a penalty kick goal by Maddie Hays, her second successful attempt of the season.
• Nash later maneuvered through four Blugold defenders to score a third goal in the 81st minute.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The two teams were nearly equal in shot opportunities, with Simpson holding a slight 17-15 advantage.
• The Storm took seven corner kicks while the Blugolds earned just one.
• Meredith Downs made nine saves en route to her fourth win of the year.
• Cassie Nash placed four of six shots on target, while Jordyn Foelske registered four shots on goal in five attempts.

NOTES

• Tonight was Simpson's first win as a nationally-ranked team after cracking into the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll for the first time in program history yesterday.
• Simpson boasts an 8-1 record for the fifth time in the 29-year history of the program (first since 2005).
• Simpson has won four consecutive matches and is 7-0 when scoring multiple goals this season.
• With today's win, the Storm even the head-to-head series with the Blugolds at two wins apiece.
• The Storm are now 3-1 against regionally-ranked teams. Wis.-Eau Claire came into the match ranked sixth in Region IX, four spots behind Simpson.
• Cassie Nash now has three games with multiple goals this year, surpassing Tracie Whitney (1999-02) for third all-time in career multi-goal games (15).

UP NEXT
The Storm play their final nonconference game of the season on Sunday at Saint Benedict. The Bennies (4-3-0) are also ranked in the same region as the Storm, sitting in eighth position.