Women's Soccer dropped its second straight contest, losing to (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene University 2-1 Wednesday night at Legacy Field.
The (15) Ravens were able to cut the Pioneers lead in half in the second half, but never found the equalizer.
The Pioneers led 1-0 at halftime, then took a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half when Elvia Villagomez sent a slick pass forward to Maria Garcia who was able to beat Ravens keeper Olivia Berry for the goal.
The Ravens cut the Pioneers lead in half with 26:36 left to play. After the Ravens were awarded a penalty kick, Natalie Duque stepped to the spot and went to her left for the goal, making the deficit 2-1. A second goal never came, though.
In the first half, Ravens starting keeper Ashley Rehagen was tested early in goal for the Ravens, making a point-blank save in the sixth minute of the match. That led to a Ravens counter and a Nicole Kelly shot toward the upper left corner of the goal, but MNU's Kailee Barnhard dove to make the save.
Savannah Moxley opened the scoring, finding space between the Ravens center backs and firing a shot that beat Rehagen to her left, giving the Pioneers a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the match. It was the first goal scored against Rehagen since the Aug. 22 win against Southeastern.
A foul in the box gave the Ravens an opportunity to level the match with 24 minutes left in the first half, but Emily Ambuul's penalty kick to the right corner was denied. Ambuul had another chance against Barnhard, this time on a breakaway, but Barnhard met Ambuul at the ball and deflected the shot away, preserving the Pioneers 1-0 lead they carried into the halftime break.
After the Pioneers scored early in the second half, the Ravens faced a daunting challenge in their comeback attempt as Kelly, the team's leading scorer, didn't play in the second half due to a first-half injury.
Wednesday's loss, coupled with Saturday's loss at Baker, means the Ravens program picked up back-to-back losses for the first time since 2013. MNU has also been a stiff test for the Ravens in recent years; the Ravens haven't beaten the Pioneers since the 2016 Heart Conference Tournament Championship Match, and haven't beaten MNU in the regular season since 2014.
The Ravens will try to get back into the win column at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at home against the Missouri Valley College Vikings.
