ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Parkside women's soccer team turned in its most explosive offensive performance in nearly two years on Saturday afternoon, defeating Roosevelt 4-2 at Morris Field. With the win, the Rangers surpassed last season's GLIAC win total and now sit alone in second place in the conference standings at 4-1-1, good for 13 points and trailing only Grand Valley State.
Parkside opened the scoring in the 15th minute after a brilliant connection between Kayden Schmidt and Lindsay Dahlinger. Working down the right flank, Schmidt chipped a pass high over the back line that dropped perfectly in front of Dahlinger, who one-timed it out of midair into the bottom-right corner past Roosevelt goalkeeper Angelina Vazquez to give the Rangers the early lead.
The highlight of the afternoon then came late in the first half, when Kate Brown collected a throw-in on the right wing, turned her defender, and bent a left-footed shot that deflected off the fingertips of a diving Vazquez and tucked inside the top-left corner. The goal, Brown's first of the season, doubled the Parkside lead to 2-0 heading into halftime.
The Rangers kept their foot on the gas early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Dahlinger raced down the left sideline, blew past two defenders into the box, and squeezed a low shot through traffic for her second goal of the match. The tally stood as the game-winner and gave the sophomore her first career multi-goal performance. She also is tied for the GLIAC lead with three game-winning goals.
Roosevelt (2-5-1, 0-4-1 GLIAC) broke through in the 74th minute when Daisy Garcia's shot was initially stopped by Parkside freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Ferrara, but the rebound fell to Kyra Cruickshank, who finished on the open net to make it 3-1. Parkside wasted no time responding, as less than two minutes later, Ella McDonnell drove into the attacking third and slipped a pass back to Brown, who ripped a low strike from outside the box into the bottom-right corner for her second goal of the day.
Garcia added a late goal on a free kick from 25 yards out for Roosevelt, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Rangers from securing their second straight road win and fourth victory in their last five matches.
Parkside outshot Roosevelt 17-15 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, while Dahlinger led all players with five shots and three on target. Brown added three shots and two goals, with Schmidt and McDonnell each tallying assists. Ferrara finished with five saves in her second collegiate start, earning her first career victory in goal.
The Rangers will return home next weekend for a single match on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. against Purdue Northwest at Wood Road Field as part of a soccer doubleheader with the men's team.
To stay up to date on Parkside women's soccer all season long, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.
