Despite an eight-day layoff between matches due to last Saturday’s cancellation at Nyack (N.Y.) College, MVNU (0-2) came out and played well in the first half as the Lady Cougars out-shot the host Lady Eagles 6-4 including a 3-1 edge in shots on goal as MVNU had several breakaway opportunities but were just unable to convert them as the match went to the half scoreless.

Then, in the second half, things began to change. Ashland (2-0) took a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute when Jamie Greene took a pass from Kelly Usher and scored on a shot from 35 yards out that eluded junior goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen.

The lead increased to 2-0 in the 72nd minute when Chelsea Hyatt was able to beat Loewen to a loose ball and find the back of the net. Erin Austin was credited with an assist on the play.

Usher gave the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead in the 86th minute as she headed in a corner kick by Hyatt to cap off the scoring for Ashland.

Junior midfielder Jessica Estep (left) kept the Lady Cougars from being shut out when she scored off a cross from senior midfielder Erin Miller from the left side with 1:38 left in the match for her first goal of the season to make the final score 3-1. The goal was also the 43rd of her career as she moved into fourth place on MVNU’s all-time scoring list.

Loewen finished with one save for the Lady Cougars, while Krista Herbst stopped five shots for the Lady Eagles. Ashland held an 11-10 edge in total shots, but MVNU posted a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal with corner kicks being knotted at 4-4.

The Lady Cougars will return to action next Thursday when MVNU will host Point Park (Pa.) University in both the team’s home opener and American Mideast Conference opener at 5:00 p.m.