Council Bluffs, IA: Iowa Western used 3 second half goals to beat ICCAC foe Northeast CC.

 

How It Happened: After an open first half that ended 0-0, the Reivers asserted themselves in the second half to pin the visiting Hawks back on their defensive end. Sophomore captain Moriah Lucas came close to breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute, but her shot hit the near post. The Reivers wouldn't be denied in the 63rd minute when Sophomore Estefanía Cardona sent in a free kick from 40 yards away that found Laura Linares behind the Hawk backline. Linares settled and got a touch over to onrushing Paola Ochoa who poked home from close range past a diving goalkeeper. Lucas would double the lead 4 minutes later when she was slipped in behind by freshman Lina Jaime on the right side. Lucas danced around the goalkeeper and a couple of Hawk defenders before tapping home from a tight angle on the right side. Council Bluffs native Hope Riche would complete the scoring 2 minutes later in the 69th minute off a scramble in the box on a Reiver corner kick. Brazilian Yzamara Alves tapped a rebound from a Jaime cross over to Riche who finished from 6 yards out.

 

Notes & Numbers: Iowa Western improves to 5-3-0. Riche has scored in 3 straight games for the Reivers. The 3-0 victory was just the 2nd shutout of the season for IWCC.

 

Quotes: Coach Adam Sanchez: "The team made a great statement from the first half to the second half. They made the adjustments we needed from them and put in a great 45 minute performance. It was a lot of fun to watch. We're hoping we can learn from this performance and put together a full 90 minutes as we get deeper in to ICCAC play. These 3 points were crucial for us and puts us in great position going in to our next matches this week. I am super excited for the team and how they responded."

 

Up Next: The Reivers will have another short turn around as they host conference opponent NIACC Thursday, September 26th then travel to Scott CC on Saturday, September 28. The matches can be viewed live at www.njcaatv.com/iwcc. Match updates can be found on Twitter at @ReiverWSoccer.