Late Scoring Seals Victory over Indian Hills

OTTUMWA, Iowa - NJCAA No. 6 Iowa Western Women's Soccer netted a pair of late goals to give the Reivers a 6-3 decision over ICCAC Conference foe and NJCAA No. 7 Indian Hills.

The Warriors (12-3-0, 0-2-0) opened up the scoring in the 20th minute when Mia Garza sent a ball into the box and Arnicka Louis headed the ball into the back of the net for her 18th goal of the season.  Just 20 seconds later, Iowa Western's Quinci Smith equalized on a defensive miscue to draw the Reivers level.  

The game would go back and forth throughout the first half. Nana Tanikawa gave Indian Hills a 2-1 lead in the 23rd minute, which was promptly responded to by Jolie Breinholt five minutes later to draw the match 2-2.

Iowa Western (12-1-5, 2-0-0) added two more goals before the first half whistle; Noah Cabre and Gala Corbacho each found paydirt to give the Reivers a 4-2 lead.  Louis would add a goal on a penalty kick to start the second half to cut the deficit to just one goal, but Iowa Western Sophomores Arianna Harrison and Honoka Nohara erased all doubt, scoring in the 74th and 79th minutes to secure the victory.

"The response from our players today was incredible," said Head Coach Bruce Erickson. "Going down 1-0 and scoring immediately changed the game.  While we weren't at our best defensively, that had more to do with Indian Hills causing us problems.  It was a great win."

With the win, Iowa Western secures a first-round bye in the Central District Tournament.  They'll face the winner of Wabash Valley and Southwestern Illinois, who defeated the Reivers earlier in the season, on Sunday, October 26th, in Godfrey, IL, at 2:30 pm.