COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Dominican women's soccer team hosted the Tusculum Pioneers for an early morning matchup at Panther Stadium, ultimately falling 3-2 after an exciting 90 minutes of play. 

The game featured five total goals, with Tusculum striking first. In the 11th minute, Wilma Axelsson assisted Addison Rishling to give the Pioneers an early lead. Just 11 minutes later, Tusculum doubled their advantage when Sydney Grant scored off a pass from Marin Wills, sending the visitors into halftime up 2-0. 

Ohio Dominican came out strong in the second half, maintaining their offensive pressure. However, Tusculum found the back of the net once again in the 61st minute, as Rishling set up Grant for her second goal of the day and the Pioneers' third. 

The Panthers nearly responded when senior Meghan Coakley headed in a goal off an Ali Mathis corner kick, but it was disallowed due to obstruction on the goalkeeper. Just three minutes later, ODU broke through when junior Mallory Smucker capitalized on defensive pressure and scored with her right foot to make it 3-1. 

ODU continued to press and was rewarded in the 85th minute. This time, Coakley's header counted, converting another corner from Mathis to bring the score to 3-2. The Panthers pushed hard in the final minutes, but the Pioneers held on for their second win of the season, handing ODU its first loss. 

Despite the result, Ohio Dominican outshot Tusculum 12-9, with eight shots on goal compared to Tusculum's seven. The match was physical, with Tusculum committing 15 fouls to ODU's 10. Both teams had two corner kick opportunities. 

Next Up
The Panthers travel to Illinois-Springfield on September 10 for a midweek matchup against the Prairie Stars of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.