COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU women's soccer opened the season Saturday night against Warner University (Fla.) at Southeastern Freight Lines Soccer Complex. The last time the Rams were in action was against the same Warner squad as the Royals ended CIU's 2021 campaign at the NCCAA South Region Tournament with a 3-1 win. Fortunately, this time around proved to be more tightly contested, resulting in a 1-1 draw. 

Scoring Summary: 
The Rams and Royals went back and forth with scoring opportunities in the first half. Warner would control the possession for the first 45 minutes and managed to take eight corner kicks. However, CIU's defense held their own, not allowing a goal in the first half. The Rams would score the game's first goal in the waning moments of the first period as freshman Marisa Dill found the net for the first time in her career, on an assist from Taylor Kyle. Warner responded at the 59:27 minute mark of the second period as Blessing Zim would tie the game at 1-1 with a goal, assisted by Kaycie Ford. Both teams battled in the waning moments of the second half, looking to take the lead and perhaps the win, but neither could cap off any opportunity they had with a score, resulting in a 1-1 draw. 

What Coach Kara Farnsworth Lail is saying: 
"We are proud of the girls and how they battled today. We have worked hard the past nine months preparing for the start of the season. It's exciting to see them play so well together, but also start to identify some of our weaknesses that we can improve on." 

Up Next:
The Rams will take on Allen University (S.C.) at Session Field on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 PM.