Women’s Soccer: Lions remain on roll

It’s not often in soccer when your team shooting percentage goes down nearly 35 points from the previous game, yet you still win convincingly. But for Vanguard University women’s coach Randy Dodge, such statistical anomalies at least give him something with which to keep his players grounded.

After converting 18 of 42 shots in Saturday’s lopsided blanking of Bethesda, the No. 12-ranked Lions connected on just two of 24 shots in a 2-0 nonconference triumph against visiting Marymount on Tuesday.

“Look how many chances we had and didn’t put them away,” said Dodge, whose sideline scorn does not accurately reflect that his team (6-0-1) has outscored foes, 31-1, this season.

“It happens,” Dodge said of the squandered scoring chances. “I’m glad it happened on a day like today, when we already had two [goals].”

Dodge said his consistent critiques of his players are not without cause. Neither are they without purpose.

“It’s about accountability,” Dodge, in his ninth season, said. “We changed some things at halftime and they put those into play in the second half, which was good. That’s why the Mariners (3-4) didn’t make it past midfield in the second half [rarely at least]. It was because we took away everything that they could do. And that’s good to know we can do that.”

It was the third straight shutout for the Lions, who opened the season with three consecutive clean sheets, before playing No. 1-ranked Concordia of Oregon to a 1-1 tie on the road on Sept. 5.

Senior goalkeeper Lauren Terry, a second-team All-American in 2012 whom Dodge considers among the best in the nation, made seven saves to preserve the shutout.

But it was the two Marymount keepers who were under significantly more duress, as the Lions compiled a 24-9 advantage in shots, including a 16-1 bulge after intermission.

Vanguard had a 2-0 lead by halftime as senior Jen Martin, an All-Golden State Athletic Conference performer in her first season at Vanguard last fall, converted an assist from junior co-captain Madison Cody in the 18th minute.

Cody, who celebrated her birthday Tuesday, provided a cross toward the top of the box that connected with a sliding Martin, who booted the ball into the upper portion of the net.

It was the 12th and 13th points in four days for Cody and Martin, respectively. Cody had three goals and two assists against Bethesda, against which Martin had three goals and one assist.

Vanguard doubled the margin in the 36th minute, when freshman Madison Lopp, who had four goals against Bethesda, notched her team-leading eighth goal of the season by launching a drive from just outside the box into the upper netting to finalize the scoring.

Martin amassed nine shots, five on frame, while Cody contributed four shots.

Senior co-captain Jenell Koide, who had two goals on Saturday and was one of nine Lions with at least one shot on Tuesday, put two of her three shots on net.

“We could cause some fits for people,” Dodge said. “We’re not as powerful as we’ve been in the last six or seven years, but our style is different. We still connect well and work hard and we have that winning mentality. Those things haven’t changed.”

Dodge praised the play of junior defensive midfielder Ashley McCutcheon, an All-GSAC returner whom he called the best player on the field.

The Lions, who play nine of their first 11 games at home, play host to Rocky Mountain College on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Vanguard opens GSAC play at home against Hope International on Sept. 24.