The Pratt Community College women's soccer team put on a show for home fans against Garden City Community College. The Beavers hosted the Broncbusters for a windy day of Jayhawk West soccer action. Pratt stood their ground on home turf and defeated Garden City 3-1.
A win for the Beavers did not come automatically. Garden scored the opening goal of the contest in the thirty-second minute. A mishandle in goal allowed for the score that put PCC behind.
Pratt trailed until the second half when midfielder Isabella Battaglia equalized for the Beavers in the forty-ninth minute. After a foul Battalgia handed the ball off to sophomore Kori Staley from a free kick set piece. Staley quickly played the ball back to Battaglia for a strike that landed in the upper right-hand corner of the goal.
PCC's second-half scoring trend continued. Forward Avery Villines produced a goal in minute 64 of the game. She was assisted by fellow forward Quemberli Merida. The victory was secured for the blue and white with a goal from sophomore Kenyonique Thompson. Thompson scored with 14 minutes remaining in the match after receiving a through ball from forward Leslie Villanueva.
The Beavers anchored down on the defensive end as well. A backline that consisted of center backs Ashton Johnson and Victoria Addington, alongside full backs Cala Jamison and Katherine Rose, allowed very few scoring opportunities.
A combination of efforts on both ends of the pitch led PCC to victory. An especially efficient second-half scoring feat mixed with holding Garden City scoreless during the last 45 minutes showed Pratt's dominance.
"The second half of the game was ours. We controlled it and played really well. We passed the ball around which let us become dominant. Having the wind on our side helped us score three goals after being down 1-0 at halftime. We're determined to always make improvements from the first half," said Battaglia.
PCC women's soccer can be seen at home again on Oct. 6. Check out the Beavers in action against Cloud County Community College starting at 1 p.m.