Warriors Nipped by Reivers in Top 20 Battle

Warriors Nipped by Reivers in Top 20 Battle

Ottumwa -- Indian Hills scored the game's first goal, but Iowa Western got the equalizer late in the first half and then tallied the game-winning goal with under 18 minutes to play as the No. 5-ranked Reivers dealt the 17th-rated Warriors a heartbreaking loss Tuesday at the IHCC field.

Megan McElmeel found the back of the net on a breakaway score to put the Warriors ahead. It was McElmeel's team-leading 13th goal of the season and gave her at least one goal in each of the last five games.

A controversial goal late in the first half enabled Iowa Western to tie the score at 1-1. Amelia Fullmer was credited with a goal after a rolling ball was ruled to have crossed the goal line before being knocked away by the Warriors.

The contest remained tied until Claire Groves scored after a feed from Daniela Cordova to give the Reivers the one-goal margin.

IHCC goalkeeper Sophie Ledger had 11 saves as the Warriors proved to be much more competitive against the highly-rated Reivers than in an earlier 7-0 IWCC win.

The loss snapped Indian Hills' winning streak at seven. They hadn't lost since the first meeting with Iowa Western. The final regular season match for the 14-3 Warriors is this Saturday at Iowa Central, the only team other than Iowa Western to defeat Indian Hills this season. ICCC claimed a 1-0 overtime win against the Warriors on Sept. 10.