Hartsville, SC- Today, the Coker College Women’s soccer team held there first home game of the season against Chowan University. The Cobras started slowly as Chowan put on some early pressure by keeping procession of the ball inside the Cobras half. This lead to the Chowan Hawks taking an early lead when number six received a high quality pass that went over Coker’s defense straight into her stride. A quick turn proved crucial as she hit it over Coker’s goalkeeper to give Chowan the lead.

The Lady Cobras responded well and put Chowan back under pressure soon after the goal. Megan Shaver had a couple of shots on goal and continued to pressure the Chowan defense. This eventually led to a well deserved goal as Shaver picked up the ball 20 yards out, then turned and slid the ball into the bottom left corner to tie the game just before half time.  Shaver was excited to claim the first goal for the Lady Cobras this season. The remainder of the half proved quite dull with neither side creating any major chances and the score remained 1-1.

The second half started like the first with Chowan coming out with high energy and lots of ball procession. Clara Danzeisen for the Hawks slid a nice pass into Ashley Bradford who shot the ball clean into the bottom left corner to give the Hawks the lead. The Hawks didn’t let up this time and again pressured the Coker defense heavily. A few minutes after adding to the lead as Bradford controlled the ball inside the 18 yard box and again placed the ball into the bottom left hand corner. This gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead.

Bradford continued to dominate the attack for the Hawks and provided the assist for the fourth goal which was scored by Katie Perkins. Coker seemed tired after letting in another goal but continued to battle hard. A couple of chances were created for Shaver who just failed to convert them into goals. Chowan again regained control of the ball and it wasn’t long before Bradford scored again to claim her hat trick and give the Hawks a 5-1 lead.

The rest of the game didn’t see many more chances for either side as they shared procession for the remainder of the game. Despite the defeat for the Cobras the game had many positive aspects as Coker did create lots of goal scoring chances which is going to be crucial in there success for the remainder of the season.

This loss takes the Cobras to 0-3 for the season and 0-0 in conference play, while Chowan improved to 1-2. The Lady Cobras next game is away at Columbia College on September 4, at 5:00 p.m.