The Benedictine Mesa women's soccer team delivered an exciting comeback performance on Friday afternoon, defeating Arizona Christian 3-2 in a tightly contested match on the road.

The Redhawks came out aggressive in the opening minutes, putting early pressure on the Firestorm defense. Brylee Rod nearly opened the scoring with a header that struck the crossbar in the fourth minute, followed by a strong save from ACU's goalkeeper on a shot by Cahryn Rod moments later. The breakthrough came in the 18th minute when Rylee Hatcher found the back of the net off an assist from Kyleya Meltebarger, giving Benedictine a 1-0 lead.

Arizona Christian responded quickly, capitalizing on two opportunities midway through the half. Cadence Peroff tied the match in the 25th minute, and just over a minute later, Peyton Baca scored her first goal of the season to put the Firestorm ahead 2-1. Despite several first-half chances from the Redhawks, including shots from Paula Gonzalez Castro and Cahryn Rod, Benedictine entered halftime trailing by one.

The Redhawks wasted no time turning the momentum after the break. In the 55th minute, Hatcher struck again, recording her second goal of the match to even the score at 2-2. The Redhawks continued pressing, and their persistence paid off in the 68th minute when Neshma Rodriguez netted her first goal of the season off an assist from Brylee Rod, putting Benedictine back on top 3-2.

Key Performers:

• Rylee Hatcher: 2 goals
• Neshma Rodriguez: 1 goal
• Brylee Rod: 1 assist
• Kyleya Meltebarger: 1 assist

Up Next:
Benedictine Mesa returns to action on October 30^th as they take on Life Pacific on the road.