DAYTON — The Wright State women's soccer program defeated Youngstown State 3-2 for its third consecutive victory on Thursday night at Alumni Field.
The Raiders improved to 4-3-2 on the season and 2-0 against Horizon League competition, while YSU dropped to 5-4-1 overall and 1-2 in HL play.
A pair of Kankakee, Illinois natives in
Macey Moore and
Elise Kukuck scored their first collegiate goals in the opening half, while
Kaylin Helinski tacked on her first goal of the season early in the second half.
Olivia Mace,
Addy Canter, and
Caitlin Burger added an assist apiece in the winning effort.
The Raiders finished with 14 shots, tied for their highest output this season. Helinski paced the attack with a team-leading five shots.
Addy Canter tallied a team-best two shots on goal.
Youngstown State outshot WSU 16-14, but only five of the scoring opportunities were placed on frame. Raider goalkeeper
Kiera Sarka limited the damage with three saves compared to one goal allowed in each half.
Wright State reached the scoreboard first in the Horizon League matchup, as Moore took a feed from Mace and dribbled it past YSU's goalkeeper in the 23rd minute. The Penguins tied the match at 1-all in the 35th minute, but Kukuck delivered a strike to the back of the net at the 42-minute mark to give WSU a 2-1 advantage entering the break.
The Raiders pressured the Penguin back line with nine shots in the first 45 minutes of action, with two of their three shots on target leading to goals.
An offensive push early in the second half resulted in a corner kick by Burger that was placed right on the head of Helinski, who deposited it into the back of the net at the 49-minute mark.
The score remained 3-1 in favor of the Raiders until the 87th minute, as the Penguins cut their deficit in half with a goal by Regan LaVigna. However, Wright State held off the late charge, limiting YSU to just one off-target shot for the remainder of the match to seal its third consecutive victory.
The Raiders will continue their conference slate at Robert Morris on Sunday, September 24. The conference matchup will start at 1 p.m. and stream on ESPN+.
