MARION, Ind. -- Tuesday evening witnessed an extremely even played match at Wildcat Field which ended with a Saint Francis (Ind.) 1-0 victory over the Indiana Wesleyan University women’s soccer team.

Cougars forward Mackenzie Starcevich scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute. Wildcat forward Tia Sanford (FR/La Habra, Calif.) landed awkwardly on the ball in the IWU attacking zone which led to a transition for the Cougars to score.

“One of our forwards got injured on the play,” IWU head coach Tim Strader said about the USF goal. “And as they went in they had a good cross and hit the keeper in the hands. Unfortunately she didn’t make the catch. She has given up one goal through three games and she has been tremendous for us. It was not one error that leads to the goal it’s usually about three or four.”

The Saint Francis goal is the first against Indiana Wesleyan since September 29 against Bethel (Ind.). Indiana Wesleyan went 384 minutes 53 seconds between goals which included three straight shutouts.

Indiana Wesleyan (7-6-1, 3-2-1 CL) created many scoring chances during a strong second half. In the final 10 minutes of the match Indiana Wesleyan earned three corner kicks and numerous opportunities with the ball in the final third of the field. But the Saint Francis (9-6-0, 3-3-0 CL) defense held and fended off the IWU attack.

“I told the girls after the match that we didn’t lose the game but we just ran out of time,” said Strader. “I felt their heart, their energy, their passion that they played with in the second half was admirable.”

Indiana Wesleyan returns to action at 7 p.m. on Saturday as they host Huntington (Ind.) at Wildcat Field.