Box Score Case Western Reserve University senior midfielder Anika Washburn broke a scoreless tie in the 84th minute to lift the 11th-ranked Spartans to a 1-0 win over Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio on Wednesday night.
The Spartans, who made their initial appearance of the season in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 this week and were ranked first in Region VII, remained perfect on the season with the win, improving to 5-0-0. CWRU has now won 19-straight non-conference regular season matches and has gone undefeated in its last 20 non-conference matches including NCAA tournament play.
Ohio Northern, ranked sixth in the region, dropped to 3-2-1 following the loss.
With the game scoreless entering the final minutes of play, junior midfielder Aniya Hartzler sent a pass to first-year forward Sydney Schenk, who touched it to Washburn just inside the edge of the 18-yard box. After taking a step back to create separation with the defender, Wasburn launched a low shot to the far corner of the net, just past the outstretched arms of the Ohio Northern keeper for the score.
It was Washburn's team-leading fourth goal of the season, and her first game-winning goal of the campaign. She leads all Spartans with 10 points this year as well. The goal was the 20th of her career, the seventh-most ever by a Spartan player, and increased her career point total to 47, moving her into a tie for the 10th-most in program history. It also marked her eighth career game-winning goal, tying her with Leah Levey (2010-13) for the second-most ever by a Spartan player.
Hartzler and Schenk each earned their second assists of the season on the goal.
Defensively, the Spartans notched their fourth shutout through five games this season and lowered their team goals-against average to 0.40. Sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Storti played all 90 minutes in goal, recording her third individual shutout of the year, and made one save to lower her season GAA to 0.44. Storti has not allowed a goal in her last 243 minutes and 47 seconds in net, while CWRU as a team ran its shutout streak to 288 minutes and 47 seconds.
The Spartans applied pressure to the Polar Bears' defense early and often on Wednesday night. CWRU outshot Ohio Northern 8-1 in the first half, including a 7-0 edge in shots on goal, but could not find the back of the net. The Spartans finished with a 17-5 edge in total shots with a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 10-3 edge on corner kicks.
Ohio Northern had one final shot at evening the score on a corner kick with under 30 seconds remaining, but Storti smothered the attempt, as the Spartans were able to run out the clock to lock up the victory.
Case Western Reserve will be back in action this weekend, traveling to Meadville, Pennsylvania for a 5:00 p.m. game at Allegheny College.
