RICHMOND, Ind. — Throughout the 2023 season, the Shawnee State University women’s soccer squad has showcased a great deal of potential.
RICHMOND, Ind. — In a Saturday evening River States Conference semifinal between the No. 5-seeded Bears and the No. 4-seeded IU-East Redwolves, Natasha Ademakinwa’s group inched closer to realizing that.
Haynna Addy’s seventh-minute goal off a feed from Valley product Lucie Ashkettle put the Bears in front to stay, while a 27th-minute connection by Shawnee State sophomore standout Brianna Brudy from a Sophia Martinez pass allowed the Bears to claim a 2-0 victory.
And, in this road contest at IU-East, it indeed was win-or-go-home.
The Bears, which advanced to a Wednesday evening (Nov. 8) River States Conference semifinal matchup against No. 1-seeded IU-Kokomo with the victory, avenged a 3-1 loss to Indiana-East back on Oct. 5 — and dominated statistically in doing so, as the Bears edged out the Redwolves in shots (14-8), shots on goal (9-4), and corner kicks (6-0).
The victory is the fifth consecutive for the Bears, which have now won six out of their last seven matches — and eight out of their last 10 contests.
Addy-to-Ashkettle connection
equals A-plus result
A talented and fast player on the pitch, Addy’s speed burned IU-East early on — as the Zane Trace graduate received a pass from the fellow Southeastern Ohio product in Ashkettle, finishing in the seventh to ultimately help the Bears take control of the contest.
Addy, in finishing from her forward position, scored her 10th goal of the season — joining Brudy in double figures from a goals standpoint.
Ashkettle dropped in her fourth assist.
Addy now has 21 points for the 2023 campaign, while Ashkettle has 18 — as Addy scored the 15th goal of her career with the timely blast.
Brudy is the Truth
For most who have watched her play before, Saturday evening’s contest was only a further affirmation of Brudy — showing why she is one of the best talents in the entire NAIA soccer landscape.
With her 27th-minute conversion and connection, Brudy now stands at 25 goals and 11 assists for a total of 61 points — in less than two years of full competition.
Already establishing herself as one of the best women’s soccer players in the history of the program, Brudy’s 25 career goals rank eighth all-time in the history of Shawnee State women’s soccer — while her 61 career points has Brudy ninth on the SSU career points list.
SSU Hall of Famer Sarah Koehler (56 goals, 132 points) heads up both.
Saturday’s assist by Martinez was the first of the year for the defensive midfielder, who now has a goal and three assists for her career.
Additional
Shawnee State improved to 8-9-1 on the season with the victory, and will face No. 1 IU-Kokomo in another aforementioned win-or-go-home affair — on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in Kokomo, Ind.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, please visit www.ssubears.com — or visit the X and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears.
For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club, or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, please visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
