Women's soccer makes major strides in tight loss to CIU

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - Though the final result wasn't what was desired, the strides taken by the Union's women's soccer team on Friday were noticeable to any objective observer.

A bang-bang play went against the Bulldogs, as Arianna Elliott drove home a penalty kick 10:31 into the second half which proved to be the difference, as Columbia International (S.C.) defeated the Bulldogs 1-0 in each team's Appalachian Athletic Conference opener.

Union's Rylee Scraggs appeared to have made a great defensive play at the net, knocking the ball out of harm's way while colliding with a charging Ram who had an otherwise clear path to an open net. But after a short conference, officials ruled a foul on Scraggs, giving Elliott a penalty kick opportunity she took advantage of.

The play was the lone blemish on a vastly improved defensive effort by the Bulldogs, as Scaraggs, Dara Miguel and Zoie Shepard consistently kept the net clean. When they didn't, keeper Maria Riberio was up for the task, recording five saves, including a gorgeous, one-handed lunging bat away late in the first half.

Friday was a far cry from the start of the season, when the Bulldogs allowed 15 goals in their first two games, while also surrendering three in a shutout scrimmage loss to Motlow State Community College (Tenn.) earlier this week.

The Bulldogs (0-3, 0-1) hope to make further improvements when they return to the field for another AAC matchup against Milligan (Tenn.) on Sept. 14.