The Blackburn Women’s Soccer played on a cloudy Thursday afternoon in Carlinville against their SLIAC conference foe, the Spalding University Golden Eagles. The Beavers went down against the Golden Eagles, 2-0.  

Blackburn was playing with ten players as the season has caused some problems with injuries for the Beavers.

In the first half, Blackburn came off more on the defensive side, as with only 10 players they tried to contain the advantage that the Golden Eagles had and their offensive attacks. Senior Libby Adams was impactful as substitute Goalkeeper for injured Sofia Faro. She had nine saves in the 1st Half. Nonetheless, the Golden Eagles found a way to score as in the 28th minute, Spalding’s Faith Rutherford scored from an amazing free kick from the right side of the field, to give the Golden Eagles the lead, 1-0. 

In the second half, Blackburn found some ways to try to score even if their chances were limited. In the 64th minute, Blackburn’s Iris Vineyard had a shot from half field that almost went in as the Golden Eagles Goalkeeper Jordan Schneider was caught off guard, yet it was a little off to the right post. Blackburn kept trying to find ways to be more offensive and keep a solid defense. Yet, in the 85th minute, Spalding’s Elle Trentman sealed the game up with a goal from a great cross from the other goal scorer of the match, Faith Rutherford, who took us to the final score of the match, 2-0.  

Blackburn had three shots throughout the game, compared to Spalding who took 33 shots. Senior Libby Adams ended the game with 16 saves, which were crucial for Blackburn to be competitive until the end.  

The Beavers now sit at an overall record of 3-6-4 (0-4-2 in the SLIAC conference). They hope to bounce back and get their first conference win on Saturday, October 21 when they travel to play against Westminster College. That game will start at 7:30 p.m.