TOLEDO, OH - Senior Molly Cornwell finished with a pair of goals and one assist to help lift Toledo to a 4-1 victory over Xavier in its season opener on Saturday at Scott Park. With the convincing win, UT improves to 10-3-2 all-time in season-opening matches, including 6-1-2 under ninth-year Head Coach Brad Evans.
"I'm pleased for the most part with today's effort," Evans said. "You always want to start a season with a win, and we did that."
The Rockets (1-0-0) wasted little time in setting the tempo in today's match and jumped on the scoreboard on a well-executed series of passes at 3:27. Junior Lauren Baker made a nice run down the right side and she crossed the ball into the middle of the XU goalbox to a waiting Cornwell. The forward quickly advanced it forward to classmate Ali Leak about eight yards from the goal, who promptly one-touched it past XU netminder Jenni Perri for the match's first score.
"The first goal was a good progression from the back to the front," said Cornwell, who moved into sole possession of second place in school history with 31 career goals. "It was a good feeling to get that first goal of the season so early."
UT kept on the attack and doubled its lead a little over one-minute later on a tally off the foot of Cornwell. Like a carbon copy of the first goal, senior Heather Wesley made a nice cross to Cornwell, who turned with the ball about 18-yards out, and she blasted a left-footed shot over Perri's outstretched arms at 4:43.
"I thought we came out today with a lot of energy," Evans said. "The early goals were great, but I think there is still quite a bit for us to work on. I told the players that we want to get better as the season goes along. We don't want this to be our best match of the season."
The home team continued to dominate the action as the opening half continued, but a slight defensive lapse cut the lead in half at 23:44. The Musketeers' Brittany Green placed a nice cross to teammate Carly Wenzel deep in the UT third of the field. Wenzel took a couple quick dribbles and perfectly chipped the ball over UT sophomore goalkeeper Vicki Traven's head to make it a one-goal difference.
The Rockets did not panic and quickly regrouped, ending the half with a flurry to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission. Off a Cornwell corner kick, sophomore Danielle Case outjumped the opposition and headed the ball into the back of the net at 32:23. UT finished the opening stanza with a decisive 16-2 edge in shots.
In the second half, the lone score came on an unassisted goal by Cornwell at 50:37. The two-time Mid-American Conference Player of the Year was able to slide a low shot under a diving XU netminder Perri from about 15 yards out to make the final margin 4-1.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," said Cornwell with a smile.
Toledo had a couple more golden opportunities down the stretch to make the final score even greater but a diving save by XU reserve goalie Kelly Farrell on a header by sophomore Kristen Lynn at the 76:36 mark kept it a three-goal margin. Moments laster, Lynn blasted a shot that caromed off the crossbar and out of bounds with 10:29 remaining in regulation.
The three-time defending league champions outshot the Musketeers by a decisive 30-5 margin and held a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks. Cornwell paced UT with eight shots, while Lynn had five and junior Sarah Blake, freshman Natalie Gaitàn, Leak and Wesley had three shots each. Between the posts, UT's Traven did not record a save in just under 56 minutes of competition before being relieved by junior Angela Righeimer, who finished with three stops.
"I thought we did a good job today of creating planty of scoring opportunities for ourselves," Cornwell said. "Now we just need to do a better job at finishing."
The Rockets return to action next Friday, Aug. 28 when they travel to the "Windy City" to battle DePaul. The opening whistle from Wish Field is slated for 4:00 p.m. (CT)
TOLEDO 4, Xavier 1
UT: A. Leak (M. Cornwell, L. Baker), 3:27
UT: M. Cornwell (H. Wesley), 4:43
XU: C. Wenzel (B. Green), 23:44
UT: D. Case (M. Cornwell), 32:23
UT: M. Cornwell (Unassisted), 50:37
SHOTS: UT 30, XU 5
CORNER KICKS: UT 10, XU 0
FOULS: UT 9, XU 6
SAVES: UT 3, XU 8
