Eagles Fall at Home Against Ranked Ravens

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kirryn Killingsworth's goal midway through the first half gave the Eagles some life, but the Benedictine offense proved to be too much to overcome – four different players scored to power #25 Benedictine (3-2-0) past Avila (0-3-1) by a final count of 5-1 at The Z on Wednesday evening.

The Ravens came into the match boasting one of the best offenses in this region of the NAIA, and they put that on display almost immediately Wednesday, With Annabelle Hoog opening the scoring off a Benedictine corner kick less than a minute into the match. Avila goalkeeper Kenan Ebel did all that she could to keep the Eagles in the game early, making three saves on Hoog alone in the first ten minutes to keep it 1-0 before Kourtney Koc set up Riley Degner for a goal to increase the lead around 20 minutes in.

The Eagles had been on their heels for much of the match to that point, but instead of sinking after Benedictine's second goal, the home squad rallied when it was needed most. Avila made a handful of substitutions after Degner's goal and they seemed to help immediately flip a switch. The Eagles swiftly linked together some passes off the kickoff and moved into the attacking zone, when Sahree Eng knifed into the center of the pitch and set up a shot by Killingsworth that Raven goalkeeper Olivia Berry bobbled and couldn't handle. Less than a minute after Degner's goal, Killingsworth's first of the season got the Eagles back to within one.

But they would get no closer. Mere minutes after she entered the game, Hailey White found her way behind the defense and scored to put the Ravens up 3-1 in the 33^rd minute, and the Eagles could not claw back again. Killingsworth cranked a shot off the crossbar late in the first half and both Killingsworth and Eng forced saves from Berry in the second half, but the Ravens added two more goals by the 80^th minute and were able to cruise to a 5-1 victory from there. Ebel finished with a season-high 13 saves in the defeat for the Eagles.

It's a quick turnaround this time for Avila women's soccer, which will return to the road this Saturday, September 10, when the Eagles travel to Oklahoma to take on Southwestern Christian. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 AM; stay tuned to Avila Athletics on social media for updates as well as information on how to follow the game live.