The Pratt Community College women's soccer team took their largest victory of the season in a conference match against Hesston College. The Beavers returned home for a single game in their schedule to host the Larks on a windy afternoon. PCC made most of their home field advantage by taking down Hesston 4-0.
Pratt showed supremacy in the match from the very start. Sophomore Forward Avery Villines scored the quickest goal in PCC women's soccer history. Villines put the first score of the game on the board in just 56 seconds. The first minute goal was orchestrated by Quemberli Merida who sent a ball through the back line and allowed for Villines' run on goal.
Villines did not stop after making history for her team in the first period. In the seventeenth minute the sophomore extended her team's lead to 2-0 with her second goal. Midfielder Isabella Battaglia put a ball in the air out wide for forward Kenyonique Thompson. Thompson then took the ball to the touchline and crossed it in for a simple poke-in by Villines.
During the first half PCC's defense hardly allowed the Larks in offensive third of the pitch. Pratt dominated in the middle third and controlled a large percentage of the possession. Hesston found themselves onside for a run a few times in the first 45 minutes of play, but they were often outpaced by the Beavers' physical back line.
The second half saw two more goals from Pratt. This time it was Merida who helped put the game away. Merida put two shots on frame past the touch line.
Villines contributed to her team's success by getting others involved as well. Villines grounded a ball from behind the midfield line to put Merida in a scoring position. Merida then skilled the ball past the Lark's goalkeeper and fired a strike from far outside the 18-yard box for a goal. This score came within just the first three minutes of the second half kickoff.
Merida struck another score in the sixty-first minute. She was assisted by midfielder Melissa Ramirez-Garcia. Ramirez- Garcia gave Merida a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper with a brilliant ball through.
Defensively, Pratt was able to keep a clean sheet through the second half as well. Hesston only earned six shots on target against the Beavers.
"The girls knew this was a must game, and they delivered," said Head Coach Ashley Burnett. "There are still a few things we need to clean up in order to reach our full potential."
PCC women's soccer picks up next in a rematch against Dodge City Community College. The game will be held Sept. 29. The scheduled start time is 2 p.m.