St. Louis, MO - #10 Cumberlands women's soccer defeated #3 Central Methodist, 2-1 on the road after a hard-fought, back-and-forth 90 minute battle Friday night. UC was able to put up two goals against the nationally ranked Eagles, while playing strong defense and taking home a win and improve their record to 2-0-1 on the season.

For the second year in a row, the Patriots take down a top-five opponent and it marks UC's first top-five win away from Williamsburg. Goalkeeper Georgia Martell tied her career-high with eight saves, and two Patriots scored against a renowned Eagle defense.

The Patriots came out strong, scoring first in the 11^th minute. Amalia Wichmann recorded her first career assist when she notched the ball over to Jayden Boelter, who footed the ball into the back of the Eagles' net, making the score 1-0. Cumberlands was able to maintain their lead for the remainder of the first half with help from goalkeeper, Martell. Of eight saves the Australia native had during the game, five of them came during the first half.

In the 28' Central Methodist was awarded a corner kick that resulted in three separate shot attempts within a three minutes time frame and each one was snagged by Martell. Those saves aided Cumberlands as they took at 1-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Martell was able to rack up another save before the Eagles scored their first goal in the 67', making the score 1-1. With the pressure high and the Cumberlands on the lookout for another big win over a nationally ranked opponent, they continued to put pressure on the Central Methodist defense. Just two minutes after the equalizer, Cumberlands scored their second and ultimately game winning goal. Alba Lorca recorded her second goal of the season in the 69^th minute off an assist from Jayden Boelter, who propelled the ball towards the Eagle goal as it found the foot of Lorca bringing the score to 2-1. This marks Lorca's first career game winner and it's Boelter's first assist of the season. 

Over the final 20 minutes of play, Martell made two additional saves that helped secure the win over their highest ranked opponent since at least 2001. Only three games into the season, and UC makes a statement by posting their second top-20 win of the season as all three games this season have been against ranked opponents.

The Patriots remain in St. Louis to continue their run on the road as they return to the pitch Sunday, August 28, against (RV) University of Jamestown. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. EST.

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