ABILENE, Texas – Junior midfielder Brianna Pina lofted a shot from just outside the box over the goalkeeper's head in the 56th minute to break a scoreless tie, and McMurry University Women's Soccer would go on to defeat Hendrix College 2-0 in the War Hawks' home opener Sunday afternoon at Wilford Moore Stadium.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Sky Reynolds received a throw in on the attacking end of the field. After slicing through a pair of defenders, Reynolds passed it off to Pina, who sent a shot just over the goalie's outstretched hands, grazing the bottom of the cross bar for the game-winning goal.
Hendrix (1-1-0) nearly tied the game 15 minutes later, but the War Hawks (1-0-1) were able to come up with a team save to preserve the lead.
In the 80th minute, McMurry put the game away on a corner kick. Junior defender Emily Fisher send the corner to the far post, where sophomore midfielder Ashland Hansen headed it back across the net to find junior forward Courtney Kendrick for a wide open goal.
McMurry played three goalies on the afternoon, with freshman Taytum McDonald collecting her first career win by being in net at the time of the game-winning goal. McDonald recorded one save, while starter Cindy Villasana tallied two saves.
The War Hawks outshot the Warriors 13-6 for the match. Each team had four shots on goal.
Next up for the War Hawks is a home matchup September 6 against Schreiner University at 1 p.m. at Wilford Moore Stadium.
