Two Goals From Riley Wood Lift FSU Over Ashland

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's soccer team received a pair of goals from sophomore Riley Wood (White Lake/Walled Lake Northern) en route to a 3-0 shutout of Ashland in a physical Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest on Sunday (Sept. 16) afternoon at the FSU Soccer Field.

Both of Wood's goals came in the opening half as FSU took a 2-0 lead into intermission.  The Bulldogs tacked on a third goal with less than eight minutes remaining to account for the final margin.

The two teams battled throughout the afternoon with a total of 38 fouls called in addition to five yellow cards.  A total of 23 fouls were whistled against the Eagles and they also received four of the five yellow cards in the contest.

Wood struck first only 10:54 into the game with her first goal of the season on a header off a cross pass from sophomore midfielder Stephanie Garland (Macomb/L'Anse Creuse North), who tallied the assist.

Later in the half, at 39:53, Wood notched her second goal of the afternoon on a shot off a feed from freshman forward Casey Shauman (Portage) to push the lead to 2-0 heading into the break.

The Bulldogs were limited in shot attempts in the final half, but still managed to come up with an additional goal on an impressive shot off a free kick by sophomore midfielder Leanne Boehm (Macomb/Henry Ford II) at 82:32 to account for the final margin.

Overall, Ferris State outshot the Eagles 11-9 for the day with both teams netting five shots on goal.  FSU junior goalkeeper Rachel McCollum (Grand Blanc) tallied five saves in earning the win as she played all 90 minutes in net.

AU had two goalkeepers see action as Karly Beuck played the initial 40:03 in net and was credited with the setback after allowing two FSU goals.  She gave way to Rebecca Plescia late in the first half and she surrenderd the final goal in 49:57 of action.

Wood paced the Bulldogs will three shots, all of which came on goal.  Three others had two shots each for FSU.

Meanwhile, both Deanna Gundling and Alexandra Kovarik totaled a pair of shot attempts each for Ashland, which dropped to 1-5-0 overall and 0-2 in GLIAC play with the loss.

AU held a slim 4-3 advantage in corner kick tries, but was also called for offsides three times to only once for Ferris State.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-3-1 overall and 1-1-1 in conference action this season.

FSU will continue its four-match homestand with a pair of league contests in Big Rapids next weekend.  The Bulldogs host Northwood on Friday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. (ET) followed by a tilt on Sunday, Sept. 23, versus Saginaw Valley State starting at 12 p.m. (ET).