Women's soccer: Third-ranked Reivers spoil IHCC's Sophomore Day

Oct. 14—OTTUMWA — If it were a boxing match, it would have started out with a first round in which the two fighters felt each other out.

Then, in the second round, came a 1-2 combination from the third-ranked Iowa Western women's soccer team. The haymakers continued against Indian Hills as the first half went along as the Reivers drilled three goals in a seven-minute span, taking command in a 6-0 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference win turning Sophomore Day for the Warriors, who may have played their final match at home on Wednesday.

"Iowa Western is a very talented team. They caught us in a not-so-good moment and they made us pay for that," IHCC head women's soccer coach Ulysus Torres said. "We know the quality of their forwards. We knew what was coming our way. It's just one of those days where they got those chances and they buried them."

Marta Llopis scored a hat trick for the Reivers, opening the scoring by firing in a free kick from 25 yards out less than 12 minutes into the match. Just over three minutes later, Hanna Schimmer took a pass from Llopis, drawing Indian Hills goalkeeper Sara Cogoli away from the net before burying a shot for her team-leading 14th goal of the season giving Iowa Western a sudden 2-0 lead.

"There may have been a bit of nerves and a bit of doubt," Torres said. "For many of these girls, it was the first time playing Iowa Western."

The Reivers (11-3-1, 5-0 ICCAC) opened a three-goal lead less than 19 minutes into the match. Nicole Navarro Aguil took advantage of a misplay in the box by Cogoli, setting up a free kick that put the Warriors in a 3-0 hole.

"We have to be at our best in order to compete," Torres said. "That's probably the biggest lesson we take away from this."

Goals by Llopis and Vinyet Clua closed out the scoring in the first half, sending the Warriors into the half facing a five-goal deficit. Llopis completed her hat trick just over eight minutes into the second half on what proved to be the final shot of the match for the Reivers with over 36 minutes to go.

"It was just one of those days," IHCC sophomore Emma Zillig said. "We definitely played better in the second half and shut them down. In the first half, we just let it get out of our control."

Indian Hills had four chances to put a goal on the board during Sophomore Day. Reiver goalkeeper Rosemary Elliott stopped shots on goal by Jorja Welch and Zillig, who had a sharp strike from 20 yards out with just over five minutes left that required a diving stop to keep the Warriors off the scoreboard.

"I really thought that shot was going in," Zillig said. "We knew Iowa Western would be on the second we had the ball. We knew that in our heads, but it's a whole different thing to experience. We can't let them get down our throats if we see them again in the regional finals."

Indian Hills (11-5, 2-3 ICCAC) still has a chance to secure a home game in the regional tournament simply by winning at Iowa Lakes on Saturday. The Warriors will not only be seeking to avenge a 1-0 loss at home to the Lakers earlier this season but earn another chance for sophomores Mifumi Sasanuma, Abbie Bailey, Rebeckah Gutierrez, Ikumi Okumura, Dare Kroeten and Zillig to play a match on their home field.

"We knew, as sophomores, we were going to need to step it up this year," said Zillig. "We're going to want Saturday's match a lot. It didn't go our way last time (against Iowa Lakes). We're going to want it really bad."

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.