Late goal barrage leads to 3-0 Senior Day win for Pride

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Playing their first ever game as a team mentioned in the NAIA rankings, the Clarke Univeristy women's soccer team took it down to the wire in a 3-0 win over Graceland University on Saturday afternoon at Burrows Field.

The Pride used this game as their 2024 Senior Day game, honoring 12 members of their senior class that included Abbey Rhoades, Bailey Wiemann, Corryn Wiggins, Deirdre Martin, Hailey Huckstorf, Hope Ward, Jaycee Page, Juanita Tibocha, Kalei Zimmer, Madeline Gamboa, McKenzie Nodolf, and Morgan Catchur after the conclusion of the game.

For a majority of the game, the Yellowjackets played the defensive game, limiting the CU quality offensive opportunities despite Clarke being credited for 25 total shots to just three for Graceland, just seven of those shots went on frame forcing Alexia Johnson to try to make a save in 90 minutes.

In similar fashion to their last conference game against Baker, Clarke went nearly 80 minutes without finding the back of the net but two seniors would be on the starting and finishing end of the first goal of the game in the 80th minute as Wiemann found some space on the rush to send a cross from the right win to freshman Jayden Black, as she headed the ball back into the center of the box where Catchur found an opening to head the ball herself into the back of the net to give the Pride the 1-0 lead they been in search of for most of the game to that point.

Another freshman would get in on the scoring action as Emily Marino would sub in after the Catchur goal to score her first two collegiate goals of her career in about three minutes of game time with an 84th minute goal assisted by Abby Prunty then an 87th minute goal finishing off a header off of a set piece feed from Black to put the game on ice at 3-0 with just over three mintues left in the game.

Only needing to make one save in the entire game, Pride goalkeeper Faith Krapfl recorded her eighth individual shutout of the season, tying the single season shutout record to become the third goalie to record eight shutouts and first since Katie Schmidt in 2007 as this ninth shutout of the season for CU as a team sets a new school record for shutouts by a team in a single season.

Clarke women's soccer will play their next game on the road when they travel to Atchison, Kan. for a Friday night matchup against Benedictine College on Oct. 18 with a 5:00 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff between the Pride and Ravens.