West Central Reporter

Western Illinois University's women's soccer team lost 3-2 to SIUE on Sunday afternoon in an Ohio Valley Conference Big South match at Korte Stadium. The Leathernecks, now with a record of 1-13-0 overall and 0-4-0 in conference play, managed to come back from behind twice but were unable to secure a win.

SIUE opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Western Illinois responded in the 30th minute when Abigail Schilling scored from 20 yards out after receiving a pass from Simone Thorst. SIUE regained the lead less than three minutes later and went into halftime ahead 2-1.

The Cougars extended their lead in the 60th minute. Six minutes later, Claire Brown scored for Western Illinois, assisted by Schilling, reducing the deficit to one goal. Despite creating several opportunities in the second half, Western Illinois could not equalize.

Goalkeeper Ariel Bernard made seven saves while facing 17 shots from SIUE. Defenders Daniela Gularte, Samantha Claesson, and Perla Rios played significant minutes to help keep the match close.

Schilling contributed both a goal and an assist for Western Illinois and was active offensively. Autumn Wilson, Hana Daoudi, and Kayla Turner each had multiple shot attempts as part of the team's attack.

Western Illinois recorded nine total shots with five on target compared to SIUE's 17 attempts.

The Leathernecks will continue their conference schedule next week at home against SEMO.