By OAKLEE FIELDER
Northwestern defender Elle Dang, defends against Fort Hays State Tiger attacker Isabelle Mull on Saturday.
Lady Ranger soccer had two outcomes to their games against William Jewell College and Fort Hays State University, one win and one loss.
Game one for the Lady Rangers was in Liberty, Missouri, home of the William Jewell College Cardinals. It was not a very offensive or defensive game from either team. 18 shots were given to the netminders on NWOSU and William Jewell.
The Cardinals had eight shots and four on goal. Northwestern goalie Alexa Flores saved all four shots William Jewell gave her, giving her a shutout at the end of the day. Northwestern was more active on the offense as they had 10 shots and eight on goal. The Cardinal goalkeeper almost had a shutout as well, but a shot from Cambell Tabor deflected off of the goalie and went in.
Tabor’s 61st minute goal was the only goal in the game between Northwestern and William Jewell. Tabor gave William Jewell’s goaltender a handful. There were four shots and three on goal from Tabor, the most on the Northwestern roster. Emerson Curd was a close second with two shots, each on goal.
The Lady Ranger defense also came in and did their jobs well. With only four shots against Flores, her job was made easier. Without the plays from the defense, the game might have ended in a different story.
Fort Hays came to Alva with a plan to ruin Northwestern’s undefeated record. That they did. The Tigers took down the Lady Rangers with two late game goals to put NWOSU’s record down to a 2-1-1.
The Fort Hays offense were on a mission, as they gave 20 shots and 12 on goal. Northwestern’s goalkeeper against the Tigers, Taylor Annen, had 10 saves. Fort Hays were also the more aggressive team, as they had nine fouls and one of their players, Alyssa Estanich, was shown the yellow card in the 87th minute.
Cassidy Fitzgerald gave the most attempts on goal with four shots. No Lady Ranger had more than one shot on goal against the Tigers.
The Lady Rangers will be on the road for the next week. They travel west to Oklahoma Panhandle State University to face the Aggies on Thursday in Goodwell. Then, they travel even further west to Las Vegas, New Mexico. There, they will play the New Mexico Highlands University Cowgirls.
The Aggies have an even record with the Lady Rangers, both having 2-1-1 records. The Cowgirls from Las Vegas, New Mexico are winless to start 2026. They’ve lost their last three and tied their season opener.