DELAWARE, Ohio – The Capital University women's soccer team took a short trip north on Wednesday night, driving about 40 minutes up I-71 and US-23 to the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University. It was there that the Comets would face a primetime battle with the Battling Bishops. In the end, CU had the upper hand, as they won their second straight game by a score of 1-0 and third straight overall.

The Comets now stand at 3-1-0 halfway through their non-conference schedule. This is a huge improvement over 2021, when the Purple and White recorded only one win against a non-OAC opponent.

Ohio Wesleyan receives the first blemish on their otherwise perfect record. The Bishops fall to 3-1-1.


FIRST HALF
Early on, it was hard to discern any advantage for either team and it turned out to be a fairly balanced game. The Bishops certainly got their chances on the offense, but the majority of them were quickly swallowed up by the Comet defense and sent the other way. On the other side of the field, the Comets attacked quickly and repeatedly. That was evident as the first goal of the game came in just the 15th minute. It was a strike from Catherine Zugaro that deflected off an OWU defender and bounded into the net. Grace Estes was credited with the assist.

From then, it was a very back and forth game as the teams traded shots at each other. Despite the volume of attacks, neither team was able to break through and put the ball in the back of the net. The half would end with the scoreline reading 1-0 in favor of the side from Bexley.


SECOND HALF
The second half was much like the first, however, the play seemed to be more centered around the center of the field. The squads battled for possession as they struggled to push forward and get chances on net. Once again the attacks were matched blow for blow, and again were fruitless. Despite the back-and-forth flow of the game, neither side was willing to give in and the contest ended with Capital still ahead just 1-0. 


THE NUMBERS
It was a fairly clean game overall with just 11 fouls called in total. Capital was the more aggressive of the two teams, with eight offenses compared to Ohio Wesleyan's three. There were no cautions or penalties given.

As stated before, the squads quite literally traded shot for shot as not only did they end with equal numbers in the game as a whole (16), but for each individual half as well (1st: 10, 2nd: 6). The only area of difference came in shots on goal. Despite having fewer shots on target (CAP: 5, OWU: 9), Capital made the most of the ones they did have, squeaking through the only goal of the game.

Catherine Zugaro scored the only goal of the game, her first of the season. She took two shots with the goal being the only on target.

Grace Estes recorded the assist on the Capital score, her first of the season. She had two shots on the night, both fell offline.

Avery Hart outshot everyone on the Comets's squad with seven (three on goal).

Lexi Snider (2), Madeline Woodruff (1), and Francesca Longano (1) were the only other Comets to have a strike. Longano's was the only shot of the group that reached its target. 

Lauren White and Liv Alford split time in the Capital net. White started the game and played the first half, while Alford came in for the second. White made seven saves on 10 shots faced. Alford faced six shots and made three saves. The win goes down as a combined clean sheet.


THE OPPONENT
Avery Maxeiner recorded eight shots, four on target.

Natalie Ryan was in goal for OWU, playing the full 90. She made four saves against 16 shots. 


UP NEXT
The Purple and White will be back at home on Saturday, September for a mid-afternoon match on the turf of Bernlohr Stadium. The opponent in that game is Hanover College and kickoff is set for 1:00 P.M.