Williamsburg, KY - Looking to build on last year's historic season, the eighth-ranked Patriots women's soccer team took down fourth-ranked Marian University by a score of 1-0, Saturday night at the UC Soccer Complex. The lone goal came off the foot of Jayden Boelter in the 35^th minute of the match. The win is the Patriots first win-over a top-five ranked opponent since at least 2001 and marks the fifth straight year that the Patriots have opened their season with a win.

"I'm really proud of the effort this team gave tonight and felt like our defense stepped up against one of the best teams in the country," said Head Coach Steve Hamilton.  "It was a great way to open the season and now we will use this as we build and prepare for the next couple of games."

The first half of the match started with Marian controlling most of the possession and taking four shots compared to UC's one. It looked like Cumberlands was going to take an early lead, however, it was nullified due to an offside call. Laura Vogt's two saves, both coming in the first 25 minutes of the match, helped to keep the Knights off the board early.  After a couple of substitutions, the Patriots offense started to get going just a little bit more. Laura Navajas Marin received a ball around midfield and sent it to the right towards Selena Barnett who continued to push the ball down the sideline. Barnett would then cross the ball back to Navajas, who continued to dribble towards the goal. Navajas found an open Boelter, and she managed to put the ball into the back of the net at 34:55 in the first half. UC ended the first half with a couple more shots, but nothing to show for it as one was saved by Marian's goalie and the other was shot high over the goal giving UC a 1-0 lead into the break.

As the second half got underway, both teams seemed share possession equally, as neither team recorded a shot on goal until the 70^th minute when Marian's Noelle Rolfsen saved a shot from UC's Olaya Blanco. Marian had two corner kick opportunities late in the second half however, couldn't convert either of them. Both teams would continue to trade some possessions and a few shots until the time ran out. The Patriots move to 1-0 on the year, while the Knights fall to 0-1

Navajas now has 23 assists for her career, while Boelter netted just her second game-winning goal of her career.

Cumberlands is set to travel up the road to Barbourville, KY on Wednesday, August 25 to face off against the Union College Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 5 PM and you can watch the live stream of the match here.

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