COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 24 Benedictine advanced to the second round of the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship on Thursday,
The Ravens (13-4-4) scored on two PKs while knocking in the game-winning goal during the 79th minute as they earned a 3-1 win over LSU-Alexandria.
Despite controlling possession throughout the first half, the Ravens were not able to convert on 7 first-half shots as they played to a scoreless draw with the Generals.
Benedictine converted the first goal of the match during the 62nd minute. Payton Vogelbacher broke through the Generals defense and was one-on-one with keeper Avery Wright when she was dragged down from behind inside the box to draw a foul. Faith Lewis stepped up and knocked in the penalty kick to give the Ravens their first lead.
LSU-Alexandria answered during the 69th minute to square the match up with 22 minutes remaining when they were able to clean up a loose ball in the box.
Vogelbacher was able to convert on a run through the middle during the 79th minute as she scored off a feed from Christine Znidarsic to put Benedictine back in front on what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Benedictine added an insurance goal during the 81st minute when the Generals were called for a handball on a corner kick opportunity from the Ravens. Hannah Phillips stepped into the box and converted a second penalty kick for the Ravens.
The Ravens finished with a 20-9 advantage in shots and 10 shots on goal – 8 of which came in the second half.
Mackenzie Korzenecki finished the match with 3 saves over 90 minutes to earn the win in goal.
Benedictine advances to the second round at 3 p.m. Saturday as they take on the host, No. 5 Columbia College. The two teams met earlier this season on Legacy Field with the Cougars earning a 2-0 win over the Ravens on Sept. 2.
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