WHEELING, W.Va. – The Golden Eagle soccer team rallied from a halftime deficit with an impressive scoring display in the second half, coming back to beat Wheeling 3-2 in the 2022 season opener on Thursday.
The victory over the Cardinals marked the second time in three full seasons the Golden Eagles won their season opener, with Clarion defeating Ursuline on Sept. 7, 2019. The three goals matched Clarion's best offensive output since a 3-0 victory over Pitt-Johnstown on Sept. 27, 2017.
Kylee Cross became just the seventh player in program history to reach 20 career points, doing so in just her 23
rd career game. She did this by dishing out a career-best three assists, adding the primary help on all three of the Golden Eagles' goals against the Cardinals. Conversely, all three goals were scored by three different players, including two –
Taylor Serrano and
Katelyn Shaffer – playing the first games of their college careers.
Serrano wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, tallying her first career goal less than 90 seconds into the contest. Cross jumped a pass by a Wheeling defender in the Cardinals' end and rushed it forward, with Serrano heading toward the net. The junior forward then centered a pass to Serrano, who tapped it past keeper Mikayla Yarwood for the first goal of the game.
Wheeling responded with a goal in the 24
th minute when Braedynn Porter got behind the defense and took a pass from Kenadee Burgoyne, going in alone on
Alex Velez and burying the shot to tie it at 1-1. Cross had an opportunity to put her team back on top in the 27
th minute after Serrano drew a foul in the box, but her penalty kick was stopped by Yarwood and the threat averted. Burgoyne logged a goal with just 12 seconds remaining in the first half, scoring on a play off a corner kick to give Wheeling the halftime lead.
Clarion kept the pressure on, though, and eventually hit paydirt in the 59
th minute. Cross teed up a corner kick from the lefthand side, lobbing it up for
Jaci Bowser. Bowser pushed it past Yarwood for her first tally of the year, evening up the score at 2-2.
Another corner kick in the 67
th minute proved to be the difference in the game, this time with Shaffer on the receiving end. Again Cross lobbed an arcing shot toward the box, lifting it over a pair of defenders to a wide open Shaffer on the backside. Shaffer headed the ball at 67:02 o put the Golden Eagles back on top.
Velez made the lead stand up, stopping two shots by Morgan McGhee and one by Porter in the final minutes. Wheeling teed up one more corner kick as the clock wound down, but they were unable to muster a shot as the Golden Eagles took the win.
