SYLVANIA, Ohio (LourdesAthletics.com) -- The Lourdes University women's soccer team celebrated a dominant home victory on October 30th, with a big 9-nil win over the visiting YellowJackets of Defiance College at Wildcat Stadium. The nine goals marked the second-highest single-game scoring total in the program's history, making it a memorable senior day for five of the team's seniors, who were honored prior to the start of the match. The program record sits at 10 goals set by the 2016 team.

This win marks the team's 12th victory of the season, continuing the season's program record for single-season wins. Additionally, the team defended its home pitch with seven wins and a tie to conclude the season undefeated at home for the first time in program history.

With this conference victory, the Gray Wolves improved their league record to 9-3, solidifying their position in the standings at No. 3 and earning a hosting-bid for the opening round scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 6. The overall regular season record stands at 12-3-1, further enhancing the best performance in program history.

Sophia Larabee led the offensive charge, tying the program record with three goals in the match. Adding two assists, Larabee totaled eight points, setting a new record for the most points in a single game in program history.

Cecily Hughes opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with an unassisted goal, capitalizing on her own initial shot that ricocheted back to her after a deflection. Then, in the 35th minute, Emily Wade set up freshman Payton Childers, who netted her fifth goal of the season, extending the lead to 2-0. Just over a minute later, Larabee added to the score with her first goal of the night, a direct shot from a corner kick, pushing the advantage to 3-0. Larabee struck again just three and a half minutes later, bringing the score to 4-0 heading into halftime.

In the 58th minute, junior Zoey Trout scored with an assist from Makayla Dillinger, who notched her first assist of the season. This marked Trout's first goal of the season and the second of her career. The scoring continued in the 76th minute when Larabee converted a penalty shot, before then assisting on a goal by Dillinger in the 83rd minute. Just 14 seconds later, Larabee recorded her second assist of the night as Simona Iacobacci scored, marking the second shortest time span between goals in program history and bringing the lead to 8-0. Iacobacci capped off the scoring with a goal off a ricocheted shot from herself, finding the net with just 1 minute and 17 seconds remaining in the match. 

Senior goalkeeper Emmy Roger recorded two saves and earned another career clean sheet in the match. 

Match Notes:

• Head Coach Jackie Phillip (71-81-20) finished the regular-season 12-3-1, the best in program history. Prior to the 2024 campaign, the 2022 team held the record for most single-season wins with their nine. That squad finished the regular-season 9-5-4. 
• Additionally, the conference victory marked the ninth of the league season, also a program-record, topping the six from the 2022 campaign. In that season, the Gray Wolves finished 6-4-1 in the WHAC and advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Lawrence Tech University, 1-0 in the opening-round. Lourdes then fell 2-0 to Madonna in the semi's, which was the first semi-finals appearance for the Gray Wolves, to conclude the post-season.  
• The women's team has made an appearance in six WHAC tournaments with the 2022 team going the furthest. However, this season's marks the first that the Gray Wolves will host.