McKenzie
CONWAY, Ark.- On Saturday, the Warriors shut out the Birmingham-Southern Panthers 2-0 to begin Southern Athletic Association play.
Hendrix hosted the Panthers this weekend to kick off conference play. Many of the families from out of state made the trek to Conway for family weekend festivities, helping to pack Warrior Soccer Field. The Warriors started the game with lots of energy, with Sydnee Pritchett taking the first shot during the 5th minute. The game settled in and was pretty evenly matched until the 19th minute when the Warriors took a couple of shots before changing their offensive lineup. In the 23rd minute, Anna Grace Eichenberger headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner, putting the Warriors on the board.
Coming into the second half, the Warriors continued their attack, taking many shots and finally getting their second goal off of a missed corner opportunity that was dropped back to the Hendrix back line. Julia Dick played a 30 yard lofted ball played into Mackenzie Sinclair who layed it off back post for Sydnee Pritchett to finish with less than a minute left in the game.
Not only did the Warriors have a great offensive performance, but Elisabeth Caton Nelson put out an amazing performance. Nelson came off her line many times to win the ball in risky 50/50 situations and take away potential goal-scoring opportunities from the Panthers. Nelson's great performance so far this season has her ranked as the number 10 goalkeeper in the country and first in conference for her save percentage of 94.6%. She is also number 18 in the country and first in conference for shutouts and ranked 17th nationally in first in conference for her goals against average of .33.
Coach Jeff Trimble said, "I was really proud of the girls today. Anytime you win in conference you have to be happy. Birmingham Southern is a good program and we knew they would be dangerous. The girls went out and played with a lot of intensity and energy. I really like the way we are defending and Caton is playing really well for us in goal. We need to make sure to continue to play well on defense and create good opportunities to score."
The Warriors will be back in action tomorrow as they head to Jackson, Mississippi to face the Belhaven Blazers at 4 pm CST.
