Killingsworth's Brace Lifts Avila to Home Win over Sterling

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the score level at halftime, Avila's top two goal scorers got things going to provide some separation and the defense went into lockdown mode, barely allowing Sterling to cross midfield, and Avila (3-7-4, 3-4-1 KCAC) walked to a 3-1 win over Sterling (3-10-0, 0-7-0 KCAC) on Wednesday afternoon at The Z.

Unquestionably the biggest storyline at the start of the match for the Eagles was the return of forward Megan Nugent, who slotted into Avila's starting lineup in her first appearance of the season. Avila's top goal scorer from the last two seasons hadn't played in a game for nearly a year after suffering a leg injury earlier this calendar year, and she quickly made her mark in her season debut.

After Sterling goalkeeper Shaylee Gibbs made a save on Ashton Thompson the Eagles swiftly won the ball right back, and Nugent slid a pass into the box for Kirryn Killingsworth who swiftly sliced a shot past Gibbs and into the net, putting the Eagles up 1-0 seven minutes into game.

The Warriors have struggled mightily in KCAC competition in recent years, but this year's team, despite a miniscule roster, has been improved compared to recent seasons. The Warriors won a penalty after an aggressive tackle at the top of the box, and defender Mika Stone stepped up to slot it home in the 20^th minute, and the Warriors had tied it up.

After that PK, however, the Eagle defense locked it down. In the second half the Warriors crossed midfield twice – and though Jessica Gautreau converted both of those opportunities into scoring chances, Kenan Ebel was up to the task both times.

And while Sterling was able to do little else on offense, Avila continued to lay siege to the Warrior back line and to Gibbs, threatening Sterling with shots from all over the field. Finally, the pressure paid off midway through the second half when Annika Holtorf, who had just returned to the pitch, and Amaris Sigler combined to build up play and Holtorf sent a low cross into the box that Killingsworth finished off for her second goal of the day and team-leading sixth of the season.

Almost exactly ten minutes later, the Eagles put the game out of reach for good. After Gibbs made a save on a good chance from Lauren Paccapaniccia, Morgan Pettlon, who had been working hard to generate chances all day, finally made good on that pressure by sliding in her fifth goal of the season inside the left post to make it 3-1. The Eagles continued to pressure and generate a ton of chances, putting a grand total of 20 shots on target and forcing 16 saves out of Gibbs. The Eagles could not score again but they did not have to – Avila handily won 3-1 to pick up its third win of the season.

After making it through a challenging pair of games last week Avila women's soccer is now in prime position to contend for the KCAC Tournament if they can put together a solid final stretch. That stretch begins this Saturday in Hillsboro, Kansas against Tabor, in a match that will now kick off at 1 PM. As always, you can watch all the action on the KCAC Network.