EAU CLAIRE, WIS. — A long road trip was not kind to the Central College women's soccer team as it dropped a 3-0 decision against the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Sunday afternoon.
           
Coming off a 3-0 victory against Beloit College on Saturday, the Dutch (5-3-1) were unable to keep pace with the Blugolds (5-3-0), who scored twice in the second half.
           
"I think today was a story of two halves," coach Mike Kobylinski said. "We pushed the tempo in the first half but they pushed it in the second half."
           
Central fired off 12 shots in the first half, including five on frame. Forward Erin Manion (senior, Delafield, Wis., Kettle Moraine HS) had five shots (one on goal) and midfielder Bridget Lynch (freshman, Northglenn, Colo., Jefferson Academy) had two shots (two on goal).
           
"It was unfortunate we couldn't convert on any of those shots in the front half," Kobylinski said. "We will hopefully learn from that and be more clinical in those moments."
           
The Blugolds scored in the second half on a penalty kick and added a final goal with two seconds remaining.
           
"I felt we had a few lapses that could have been avoided and ultimately cost us," Kobylinski said. "As a coaching staff, we will like at that and work to correct it with the team.
           
"At the end of the day, we came up against a team that played in the conference tournament final last year. They are ranked in the region and we were able to match them on shots and corners."
           
The American Rivers Conference season kicks off Saturday in Decorah against Luther College at 2 p.m. The Dutch beat the Norse 1-0 on the last trip to Decorah in 2017.
           
"We're excited to go to Luther after another full week of training," Kobylinski said.  "We're still in a good spot after playing a very tough non-conference slate. I'm confident in this group and they are confident in themselves. That's an exciting thing."