Dolesh, Zakrzewski each score twice while RedHawks shut out Jaguars, 4-0

OXFORD, Ohio – Sophomores Katy Dolesh and Kayla Zakrzewski each scored twice and the Miami University women’s soccer team showed strong defense en route to a 4-0 win over IUPUI (0-1-0) Friday evening at Miami Soccer Field in the season opener for both teams.

After shaking off the rust in the opening minutes, the RedHawks (1-0-0) began to take control of the match, as Dolesh just missed getting her foot on the end of a cross in the seventh minute. In the 23^rd minute, Zakrzewski (London, Ont.) did put Miami on top, 1-0. She gathered the ball after a failed clear attempt by IUPUI, took a few dribbles to beat a defender and fired a laser from just inside the 18-yard box that landed in the upper, right corner of the net.

Just over three minutes later, Dolesh (South Euclid, Ohio) found the back of the net for the first time on the year when she buried a cross from freshman Amanda Filian (Palatine, Ill.) with her head right in front of the cage. The ‘Hawks would continue to control play, keeping the ball in the Jaguars end of the field, but settled for a 2-0 halftime lead.

“I thought it was a good start for us. We were a little slow out of the gate but you’ve got to expect that in the first game of the year,” head coach Bobby Kramig said. “Once we got that out of our system, I thought the game really picked up. We were able to get in behind them a few times and scored some nice goals.”

Miami held an 8-1 edge in shots in the opening period while collecting six of its eight corner kicks on the day. IUPUI earned just one corner in the first stanza and finished with just two in the game.

The RedHawks would add to their advantage in the 70^th minute when Zakrzewski struck for the second time. Junior Jess Kodiak (Naperville, Ill.) settled a pass just beyond mid-field and played a perfect through ball to Zakrzewski, who beat her defender and was able to chip the ball over IUPUI keeper Kristin Haseley from the left side to make it a 3-0 contest.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, Miami finished its scoring by knocking in a loose ball in the box. The ‘Hawks took a free kick near the goal line and centered into the box where senior Courtney Clarke (Scarborough, Ont.) first took a hack at it but it was blocked. The ball continued to bounce loose until Zakrzewski tapped it to Dolesh, who finished the goal for her second score of the day. Zakrzewski picked up the assist, giving her a five-point match.

“We were real excited to come out. Bobby’s been asking me the last few days how many goals I was going to get. I told him two. He wanted three but I think two’s good enough,” Dolesh said. “It was really exciting. We were moving the ball fast and playing outside and we got a lot of crosses in which helped a lot.”

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Allison Norenberg (Palatine, Ill.) earned her first career shutout in her first collegiate action, as she needed to make just one save all day for the clean sheet. Miami outshot the Jaguars, 17-3, for the match, led by three shots each from Dolesh and Kodiak. IUPUI’s Giselle Guzman took the loss, allowing both first-half tallies, while Haseley, who played the second half in net, finished with three of the Jaguars four saves.

“I was very pleased with our defense. We spent most of this week trying to reinvent our back four. We’ve had some injuries back there and we have some kids playing a bit out of position,” Kramig said. “I was particularly proud of Haley Clark. She did a super job back there despite normally playing in the midfield. Morgan (Stallard) had a great game and CC (Courtney Clarke) is always super reliable.”

The RedHawks return to the pitch Sunday when they host Morehead State at 1 p.m. at Miami Soccer Field. Live stats will be available for Sunday’s contest on MURedHawks.com and the game will also be streamed live via the All-Access subscription package on MURedHawks.com.