By: Sean Neidig, sports information graduate assistant

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thanks to two goals off the bench, Capital University Women's Soccer (4-5-1, 2-0-0 OAC) beat Wilmington College (4-5-2, 0-1-1 OAC) 2-1 on Wednesday night to remain undefeated in the young Ohio Athletic Conference season.

Capital started the game quickly and it was obvious that the team wanted to set the tone early on. Play moved back and forth for the first several minutes but after Capital settled in, the Crusaders enjoyed long periods of possession and were constantly in Wilmington's territory.

Capital went ahead just before halftime in the 40th minute thanks to a goal from Amy Burt (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), her first of the season, from the center of the box. Hannah Ervin (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) picked up the assist.

The Crusaders doubled their lead in the 56th minute with a goal from Ashley Zapparato (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg). While attempting to clear a ball, Wilmington goalkeeper Ana Hosler punched the ball directly to Zapparato who collected and sent it home to put Capital up 2-0.

The Quakers made it interesting and pulled within one on a goal from Alex Vestal in the 80th minute but they could not equalize before the final whistle sounded.

The Quakers struggled to generate offense the entire night against a Capital defense that limited Wilmington to only seven shots. Only Vestal and Ashley Lovett took any shots for Wilmington with four and three, respectively.

Capital, on the other hand, took 17 total shots as a team, led by Jordan Fike's (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) four. Nine different Capital players attempted shots. The Crusaders also limited Wilmington to only one corner and took seven themselves.

Kelly Bachmann (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community) got the start in goal for the Crusaders and made two saves in 45 scoreless minutes. Hannah Klotzsche (Avon, Ind./Avon) subbed in at goal for the second half and made one save.

Wilmington had a chance to take an early lead in the fifth minute when Bachmann was pulled off of her line by Vestal. Vestal dribbled around Bachmann in space and shot at an empty net but Allyssa Kimbler (London, Ohio/London) blocked the shot out of bounds.

Capital will try to make it three conference wins in a row on Saturday when the Crusaders host Ohio Northern University at 1 p.m.