Women’s Soccer: Ohio tops VMI 1-0 in season opener

The VMI women’s soccer team played strong but came up short in a 1-0 loss at home to visiting Ohio University Thursday evening in Lexington.

The game was delayed by nearly an hour due to lightning in the area.

The teams played on equal terms to open the game as they exchanged shots and traded possession frequently. At the 15:06 mark, the Bobcats (1-0) came away with the ball in a scramble in the VMI goalie box, where Clayton Madison tipped the ball over to Shae Robertson who slipped it past Keydet goalie Jillian Hall for the 1-0 advantage in what proved to be the game-winning goal.

VMI (0-1-0) nearly knotted the score midway through the second half when senior Maria Vargas broke away from the Bobcat defense but her shot hit the post and was deflected out of bounds by an Ohio defender.

Sophomore Hannah White led the Keydets with two shot attempts in the game while Anissa Cheikh, Miah Ruiz, Vargas, Lauren Fyfe, Maggie Beckman and Riley Flanagan were all credited with one attempt.

Robertson paced the Bobcats with six shots during the contest while Paige Knorr, Haley Miller and Abby Townsend all had three.

The Bobcats finished the game with 21 shot attempts to VMI’s eight and led the corner kick battle by an 11-1 count.

Ohio goalie Sam Wexell earned the win with four saves during the game while Hall picked up the loss despite six saves.

The Keydets face a quick turnaround as they travel to East Carolina for a Sunday matchup at 4 p.m.