WOMEN’S SOCCER PICKS UP HUGE KCAC WIN OVER FRIENDS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In a battle between the third and fourth-ranked teams in the KCAC, Avila women's soccer extended its winning streak to four games by picking up a 2-0 win over friends on Thursday at The Z.

The win marked head coach Katie LaForge's 50^th as the Eagles' boss.

The 2-0 victory is also Avila's seventh shutout win of the season and third in the last four games.

A closely-contested first half saw the teams enter halftime scoreless with both squads combining for nine shots in the first 45 minutes.

Avila came out strong in the second half. Two of the Eagles strongest offensive contributors this season combined to get Avila on the scoreboard first. Cali Lasater found Addison Yinger, who buried the ball in the back of the net to give Avila a 1-0 lead.

Lasater has a team-leading eight assists on the season and is currently on a four-game assist streak. Yinger picked up her eighth goal of the season – also leading the team – and she has scored a goal in back-to-back games and three of the last four matches.

Friends' best scoring opportunity of the match came midway through the second half as they lined up for a 19-yard free kick following an Avila foul. As has been the case for the majority of the season, goalkeeper Kenan Ebel came up huge and made the stop to keep Avila ahead.

In the 76^th minute, Joselyn Clark had her first shot attempt blocked before getting her own rebound and scoring a goal of her own to give Avila a 2-0 lead.

Ebel made seven total saves in the match to preserve the shutout and help Avila to the 2-0 victory.

Avila (11-3-3, 8-2-2 KCAC) will look to extend its winning streak to five games as they host Bethel on Saturday at noon at The Z.