EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — Brynlee Kelly scored on a free kick in the 50th minute and added a second goal in the 82nd, and No. 7 Viterbo ended the Indiana University Northwest women's soccer team's season with a 2-0 postseason victory Wednesday at East Chicago Central High School.
The No. 2 RedHawks controlled the first half. Ava Haluska put five corner kicks into the box in the first 23 minutes, and IUN took eight shots to Viterbo's one. Mari Williams, Maya Maldonado, Erin Harrison and Isabella Soria all tested Viterbo goalkeeper Wiene Uitenboogaart, and Viterbo defender Ellie Hedges blocked two shots in the 20th minute. The match was scoreless at the break.
Viterbo broke through early in the second half. Kelly sent a free kick into the net in the 50th minute for a 1-0 lead. IUN answered with pressure. Williams and Haluska both forced saves from Uitenboogaart in the 54th and 56th minutes, and Williams was denied again in the 59th. Kaleigh Blatti kept the deficit at one when she turned away Evelyn Shaw in the 72nd minute, and Maldonado had a chance saved in the 76th.
Kelly put the match away in the 82nd minute, scoring her second goal of the day. IUN kept pushing in the closing minutes. Soria blocked a Kelly shot in the 87th minute, and Haluska and Williams each had a late shot saved, but the RedHawks could not find a goal.
IUN outshot Viterbo 18-6 and held a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Williams led the RedHawks with six shots, Maldonado added four, and Haluska and Harrison each had three. Uitenboogaart made 11 saves for Viterbo, and Blatti made two for IUN.
The loss ends the RedHawks' season and they finished 8-1-1 in conference play and reached the postseason for the second consecutive year, this time as the No. 2 seed.
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