ARKADELPHIA- It didn’t take long for Ouachita Baptist to take control of the match offensively, as the Lady Tigers defeated Hendrix College, 4-1, in a non-conference matchup in Arkadelphia on Wednesday.
Ouachita (1-2) scored all four of their goals in the matches opening 48 minutes, including three in the first 27 minutes of play. In all, the Lady Tigers outshot Hendrix, 21-6.
Ouachita junior Beth Wendl displayed why she is one of the better players in the Gulf South Conference, as the Plano, Texas native assisted on the first three goals, then finished off the games final goal for her first of the season. Likewise, senior Whitley Hoppe (1-2) earned her first victory of the season at keeper, recording two saves, while benefitting from a strong defensive outing for Ouachita.
The Lady Tigers opened the scoring at the 5:22 mark as freshman Jessica Allen scored on off an assist from Wendl to give Ouachita a 1-0 lead. Freshman teammate Angel Palacios followed suit with a goal from the left side, beating a defender on an assist from Wendl. Both goals for Allen and Palacios were the first of their collegiate careers.
Allen then answered back at 27:28 for the final goal of the first half, as Wendl again assisted on the play to set the score at 3-0 at half. In the second half, Ouachita didn’t lose stride offensively with a goal from Wendl at 48:09, as Allen assisted to give the Lady Tigers a 4-0 advantage.
Hendrix College scored just over two minutes later with an unassisted strike from Amelia Wildenborg that cut the deficit to 4-1, but it would as close as Hendrix would get for the rest of the match.
Hendrix keeper Allison Mosley finished with 10 saves overall, while allowing four goals to the Lady Tigers. Ouachita played its entire roster for the first time this season, recording 14 shots on goal in the victory.
The Lady Tigers return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 11 against LeTourneau in Arkadelphia at 3 p.m.
