Gambier, OH - The Falcons shut out the Kenyon Ladies, 2-0, on a chilly afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons dominated the Ladies, out shooting them 18-8 on the afternoon. Taylor Holt scored the first goal for the Falcons off a rebound from a Carissa Gehman shot in the 23rd minute. Then Holt assisted Gehman on the second Falcon goal in the 62nd minute off a penalty corner to give the Falcons a final score of 2-0.
 
The Falcons had a number of early chances beginning in the second minute, when Kristin Donohue took the ball down the middle of the field and fired a shot wide of the cage.
 
In the eighth minute, on their first real chance in the attacking end, the Ladies were awarded consecutive penalty corners. While they could not get a shot off on the first corner, the second resulted in a strike by Maddie Breschi that was high and wide of the left post.
 
Just moments later, Moriah Pfautz had a good chance in front of the goal but was fouled before she could get a shot off. On the ensuing penalty corner Carisa Gehman fired a shot, but missed wide of the net. Less than a minute later the Falcons were awarded another penalty corner, this time Emily Rubright got a shot off, but her shot missed high.
 
After the Ladies and Falcons traded penalty corners, the Falcons began to dominate possession.  Ally Morgret fired two shots in the 16th and 18th minute, the first missed wide and the second was saved by the Ladies' goalie, Sarah Speroff – one of her six saves on the day.
 
The Falcons would have their best chance of the first half in the 23rd minute, when Carissa Gehman split two defenders and was one-on-one with the goalie. She took a shot that was saved but the rebound found the stick of Taylor Holt on the left side who tapped in into the back of the cage to put the Falcons on the board 1-0.
 
Less than a minute after the Falcon goal, Carly Day made a nice save to keep the Ladies off the board. The Falcons had chances late in the first half to find a second goal, but Gehman's shot was blocked and Donohue's shot went wide right.
 
With 11 seconds left in the half, it looked like the Ladies' had tied the score, when a shot got past Day, but Brittany Horst came up with the defensive save to preserve the 1-0 going into half time.
 
After the intermission the Ladies had the first two opportunities of the second half, but the Falcons' defense stood strong, taking the ball from the Ladies in the circle before they had a chance to take a shot.
 
The Falcons countered with chances of their own, earning penalty corners in the 41st, 42nd, and 57th minutes, but could not get anything from them.  Finally in the 62nd minute the Falcons connected for their second goal of the game. On yet another penalty corner, Taylor Holt found Carissa Gehman at the top of the circle who put a shot past the keeper, giving the Falcons a 2-0 advantage with just over eight minutes left in the game.
 
The Falcons would keep the Ladies off the board for the remainder of the game, winning by a final score of 2-0.
 
The win advances the Falcons to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to play Catholic University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Ewing, NJ.