Ottumwa, IA – The No. 10 Indian Hills Women's Soccer team continues to notch signature wins throughout the season, but Saturday's victory may top them all. The Warriors defeated No. 4 and previously unbeaten Iowa Western Community College 3-1 at Schafer Stadium.
"Incredible performance today by the ladies," stated head coach Anthony Longo. "We have talked a lot about playing a full 90 minutes, and today they did just that. All over the field, every player did their job and put in a great performance. This was a true team win."
The two winningest programs in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) over the last three seasons entered Saturday's match both with unbeaten records. Two national tournament teams from a season ago, the Warriors improve to 11-0-0 and 2-0-0 in conference play following Saturday's win while the Reivers fall to 6-1-0 and 0-1-0 on the year.
"At the end of the day, it's great to see the ladies were not intimidated," Longo added. "This is a group that is extremely confident in themselves and what they can do. They know that when they are on their game, they can compete with anyone in the country."
The Warriors stunned the Reivers right off the bat with a goal at the 2:52 mark of the first half. Elisabeth Plouy (Twin Falls, ID/Twin Falls) buried a loose ball rebound in the box to give Indian Hills the early edge. Sophomore Bailey Wiemann (Burlington, IA/Burlington) was credited with the assist on the play.
Indian Hills maintained control for much of the early goings of the first half, but the Reivers responded with a goal of their own at the 25:10 mark on a long pass into the box.
As halftime drew near, the Warriors went straight to its leading scorer in Wiemann to take command. An initial shot from Plouy found the head of Wiemann as the sophomore placed a shot over the outstretched arms of the Reiver keeper for the 2-1 lead.
Indian Hills maintained its one goal advantage early on in the second half until the Warriors relied on a header once again. Mifumi Sasanuma (Tokyo, Japan/Shutoku) delivered a corner kick into the box and Risa Ogasawara (Yokohama, Japan/Hinomoto) leaped over the crowd and found the corner of the net for the 3-1 lead.
Freshman Sydney Ray Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk), who took over in net in the second half, kept the Reivers scoreless with exceptional play in goal. The freshman made six saves in the final 45 minutes to help guide the Warriors to the top-10 victory.
"Defensively, we were spectacular," Longo noted. "Everyone on the backline had a great game. It's been one of our strengths all year and today is no different. Abbie Bailey (Redditch, England/Arrowvale) and Hope Ward (Burlington, IA/Burlington Notre Dame) are one of the top centerback pairings in the country. KJ Schmidt (Cedar Rapids, IA/Washington), Chiaki Ota (Chigasaki, Japan/Ninomiya), and Mifumi had standout performances on the wings today."
Wiemann's scoring prowess continued with three more points on Saturday for a total of 41 points on the year, the best mark in the nation. Wiemann also leads the country in assists (11) and ranks second in goals (15). Ogasawara's two points on the day puts her in a tie for fourth in the nation with fellow teammate Ikumi Okumura (Edogawa, Japan/Murata).
Longo noted the efforts of the scoring threats on the Warrior roster. "It's great to see top players put up points against top teams. Elisabeth, Bailey, and Risa have been the players we rely on, and they came through today."
The win marks just the second victory over Iowa Western, but both have come in the last two seasons. "This puts us in a great spot in terms of conference and postseason," Longo added. "But now we focus on recovering tomorrow and having a good practice on Monday."
Indian Hills hosts Black Hawk – Moline College (IL) for a nonconference matchup at 12:00 PM on Wednesday before returning to ICCAC action at 1:00 PM Saturday at home against Iowa Central Community College.
WARRIORS TOPPLE THE REIVERS!
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) September 25, 2021
No. 10 @IHCCSoccerWomen blanks No. 4 Iowa Western in the second half to remain undefeated on the year!#WeAreHills #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/ffidPNuZiF
