Cougars Held in Check at Georgetown

(Georgetown, KY)-- The Cleary Cougars took their first road trip of the year, and faced the Georgetown College Tigers in Georgetown, Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers controlled the game from the opening kickoff, and the hosts struck first in just 7 minutes as they were able to slot a shot past Cougar goalie Kara Donaldson to take a 1-0 lead.  Georgetown maintained their pressure and possession, but the Cougars were able to hold off the attack for another 22 minutes of game action.  The Tigers broke through again, this time on a shot that pinged off multiple Cougar defenders before finding the back of the net, and giving the hosts a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Georgetown would strike again in the second half to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but the Cougars would respond to get on the scoreboard.  After forcing a Tiger turnover, April Gillespie took the ball and crossed it to the top of the box, where she found Elena Strauss, who fired with enough power and pace to beat the diving Tiger goalie, and made the score 3-1.  Cleary kept the pressure on, and had the game's next real chance to score, when Felicia Moseley received a throw in ahead of the defense, passed the ball back to a trailing Dana Weitenberner, who crossed the ball to the back post where she almost found Natalie Steel who was taken down in the box.  The referee determined it was not enough for a foul, and play would resume.  That play seemed to wake up the Tigers again, as the home team took control of the game once again, and they added two more goals before the final whistle to win 5-1.

Cleary was outshot 26-3 in the game, while Kara Donaldson and Tara McGrath combined for 13 saves.  Georgetown also won the corner kick battle, earning 16 corners to Cleary's 1.  The goal for Elena Strauss was her first career goal donning the Cleary colors, and April Gillespie's assist was her second in as many games.

Cleary drops to 1-1-0, and will next be in action on Monday, August 29, when they take on the Campbellsville-Harrodsburg Pioneers in Harrodsbugr, Kentucky.  Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM.