OWENSBORO, KY - After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Kentucky Wesleyan and Thomas More combined to score five goals in the second half. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they were on the wrong end of that score, falling 3-2 to the visiting Saints.
It was senior night for the Panthers, as they honored
Elizabeth Burns,
Chloe Hinchcliffe,
Bree Owen,
Ashlyn Payton, and
Shelby Taylor. This is one of the most experienced senior classes in recent memory, as Burns has 35 games played in goal, while all four others have at least 50 played in the field.
Shelby Taylor now has 75, second all time in school history.
After a scoreless first half, Thomas More got on the board first with a goal in the 50th minute. Wesleyan answered back just two minutes later, as
Maci Onstott scored her first goal of the season on a one-timer from 20 yards out. Giving her the assist was
Chloe Hinchcliffe, who now has 10 assists in her career. Just a minute later, senior
Ashlyn Payton got in on the action, poking the ball right past the keeper thanks to a perfect pass from
Carly Embry. The Panther lead wouldn't last long, however, as TMU's Sydney Rhodes hit a perfect shot into the upper right corner of the net to tie the game at two just eight minutes after Wesleyan took the lead. The Panthers had multiple chances late, but it was Thomas More who eventually came out ahead, as they would score in the 85th minute to get the win.
Wesleyan out shot their foes from out east 21-13, but TMU had an 8-6 edge in shots-on-goal. Kentucky Wesleyan had 10 corner kicks in the contest, while holding Thomas More to none.
Both
Maci Onstott and
Ashlyn Payton scored their first goals of the season in the game. Payton led with five shots, while
Shelby Taylor was just behind her with four, including a screamer in the second half that hit the crossbar.
Elizabeth Burns made five saves in the contest.
Wesleyan will close out their 2023 campaign on Tuesday when they travel to Nashville to take on the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
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