Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University midfielder Brooke Wetterstrom (17) chases down a loose ball during a womens soccer game against Washburn (Kan.) at Mattke Field in Marshall on Friday afternoon. The Ichobods defeated the Mustangs 2-0.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State soccer team had no answer for the Washburn (Kan.) Ichabods on Friday afternoon. The visitors controlled the tempo of the game and rode an early goal to a 2-0 win.

Entering the game, SMSU had lost each of their first two games of the year. Hosting last year’s national runner-up in Washburn, SMSU head coach Clay Glasgow said that he wanted the previous two games to serve as a learning experience for the team.

“That’s why we play these games. There’s a physical aspect and a technical aspect [of the game],” Glasgow said, adding that he felt like the effort was a difference-maker for the Ichabods. “You walk into battle and you’ve got to fight. You’ve got to win. I feel that some of us brought it today, some of us didn’t bring it today. When you’re playing a top team like that, everybody’s got to bring it… because guess what? All 10 of them are bringing it.”

Riley Wells scored the go-ahead goal for Washburn in the 13th minute, capitalizing on a feed from Preslee Amick to claim her first goal of the season. 

In the 59th minute, the Ichabods got the friendly bounce when Khloe Schuckman sent a shot off the crossbar. The ball ricocheted up and down, making contact with the iron twice before being ruled a goal to give Washburn a 2-0 lead. 

SMSU fired off just two shots in the game, both from Sydney Johnson and one of which was on target. It’s the second time in the Mustangs’ first three games that they’ve been held without a shot in the first half after they were limited to three total shot attempts against West Florida in the season opener.

“I’ve got to do a better job and we’ve all got to do a better job of going back, watching tape, looking and seeing what areas we lose the ball in,” Glasgow said, adding that he felt his team was struggling to maintain possession in the neutral third. “We can talk about the caliber player, we can talk about the technical player, but when we connect with our forwards, we’ve got to get up fast. We’re getting up too slow, there’s no support and that’s part of the problem. So now we  find our attacking players and then it becomes a 1-v.-3, 1-v.-4, so that’s part of the problem.”

The Ichabods were on the offensive early and often against the Mustangs. They held 60% of the time of possession and had the ball in the attacking third for 21% of that time. The Mustangs, meanwhile, spent just over a minute of the first half in the attacking third and under a minute in the second half. 

That time of possession also turned into opportunities. Washburn fired off seven shots before the break, four of which were on goal, while the Mustangs didn’t get off any. The Ichabods also earned six corner kicks compared to just one for SMSU.

“It’s a transition game. Sometimes you’re going to have the ball, sometimes you won’t have the ball, so we’ve got to understand that. But when we had possession of the ball, we panicked and just gave it away,” Glasgow said. “We’re doing a good job defensively winning the ball, what’s next?”

Glasgow added that he feels like time of possession is hugely impactful on the outcome of games and that working on effective passing is going to be a goal of the team moving forward.

Rachel Hicks finished the night with four saves in goal for SMSU.

The Mustangs drop to 0-3 with the loss and will look to rebound on Sunday, when they take on Fort Hays State (Kan.) at Morstad Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. SMSU will look to avoid the same fate as last season when they lost each of their first four matches. Game time is scheduled for noon. 

“The fundamentals of the game don’t change with both teams. At the end of the day, at this level, both teams should be able to pass the ball, both teams should be able to dribble and both teams should be able to defend,” Glasgow said. “That’s it. Effort, energy and attitude. That’s what makes a big difference because at this level, everybody should be able to [dribble, pass and head the ball].”