CEDAR RAPIDS — Lauryn Kramer (sophomore, Cedar Falls) found the back of the net with 18 seconds to give the Central College women's soccer team a dramatic 1-0 victory at Coe College Friday night.
In the first game of the Iowa Conference season, the Dutch (8-1-1) were strong on the attack, pounding away 11 shots-on-goal out of 17 total attempts. In a final flurry of action, Kayla Sunvold (senior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS)laid a cross in to the box for Kramer, who had subbed into the game just two minutes earlier, to connect on the game's lone goal.
"Kayla served a great ball into Lauryn," coach Mike Kobylinski said. "She got her noggin on the ball and scored a beautiful goal."
Sunvold's seventh assist of the season places her in a tie for the fourth-most in a season in program history and sole possession of 10th place for assists in a career.
"Kayla had a great game tonight," Kobylinski said. "She's been crucial to our offense all season and all of her career"
Kobylinski noted an overall defensive effort by his team that helped them record their seventh shutout as a team. It was the fourth clean sheet by senior goalkeeper Sydney Lunardi (Bettendorf, Davenport Assumption HS) this season as well.
"You're not going to find a better goalkeeper around," he said. "She's one of the best, not only in this conference, but in my opinion in the nation."
Senior defender Kesley Roxworthy (St. Charles, Ill. East HS) was responsible for marking the top threat from the Kohawks and did not disappoint.
"I thought she proved to be one of the best in the league with her performance," he said.
The victory extends the team's winning streak to eight games, two longer than the previous record from the 2014 season. Kobylinkski points to outstanding leadership to explain the team's success.
"Our five seniors really lead this team and that has helped us tremendously," he said. "They've bought in and so has the rest of the team. We're going to keep milking this thing for however long we can."
The Dutch remain in the area for a non-conference match at Cornell College Saturday at 2 p.m.
Next Wednesday, Central will look to win its ninth game overall and third straight game against Simpson College, playing host to the Storm for a 2 p.m. match. Video webcasts and live stats for all home games can be accessed via the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics or directly at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/ .
