Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
11-18-23 WSOC regional home win v. Cedarville
0
Cedarville CU (16-5-1, 11-2-1)
2
Winner Ashland AU (19-0-4, 11-0-3)
Cedarville CU
(16-5-1, 11-2-1)
0
Final
2
Ashland AU
(19-0-4, 11-0-3)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cedarville CU 0 0 0
Ashland AU 1 1 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | Dusty Sloan, Ashland University Director of Athletic Communications

No. 2 Ashland Women Beat Yellow Jackets In NCAA Second-Round Game

Eagles’ 19th Win Of 2023 Ties Program Record For One Season

After having to go 19 years between NCAA Division II postseason victories, the No. 2-ranked Ashland University women's soccer team is starting to stack them up.
 
On Saturday (Nov. 18) afternoon in a 2023 D-II second-round playoff game at Ferguson Field, the Eagles took a 2-0 decision from Great Midwest Athletic Conference rival Cedarville – which allows them to continue to play host to NCAA games starting on Nov. 30.
 
Ashland is 19-0-4, and the 2023 Eagles have tied the 2004 Eagles for the most single-season wins in program history.
 
"The goal was to go 2-0 this week. We knew it was going to be a difficult game," said Ashland head coach Cayleb Paulino. "We held our head on being really good defensively, scoring on set pieces, and we found a way to get a result."
 
The Yellow Jackets' season ends at 16-5-1.
 
In the 20th minute, freshman forward Sydney Polen, who hadn't been on the pitch long after Ashland subbed for the first time in the game, scored her seventh goal of the season following a deflection on an Eagle corner kick.
 
Then, in the 64th minute, junior midfielder Merrik Mihalek's free kick following a Cedarville yellow card resulted in a goal for freshman midfielder Ella Schneider and a 2-0 Eagle lead. Schneider's goal was her fifth of 2023, and Mihalek's helper was her fifth of the fall.
 
That, once again, was more than enough for junior goalkeeper Maddie Dolenga and the Ashland defense. Dolenga made three saves for her seventh individual clean sheet of the season, and the Eagles' 19th overall – two shy of the D-II women's soccer record of 21. Ashland has blanked each of its last eight opponents.
 
"We have a certain set of principles that we follow," said Paulino, "and we make it difficult. The buy-in is the reason why we are who we are."
 
For a team that didn't win a Great Midwest title in 2023, a trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four is two wins away.
 
"For us, it's the mindset now. We didn't get a (conference) trophy, now go get the biggest one you can," Paulino said.
 
POST-GAME NUGGETS
  • The Eagles had 14 shots to the Yellow Jackets' nine on Saturday, and out-corner kicked Cedarville, 6-2.
  • Ashland has outscored its opponents 55-4 so far in 2023.
  • The Eagles are 12-0-1 at Ferguson Field this season.
  • Ashland is 7-2 all-time against Cedarville, and 3-0 this season.
 
UP NEXT
The third round of the NCAA Tournament at home on Nov. 30.
 
Print Friendly Version