HANNIBAL, MO – The Principia women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season on Saturday morning with a 2-0 shutout victory over Hannibal-LaGrange. The Panthers scored twice in the opening 24 minutes before leaning on a strong defensive effort and 10 saves from junior transfer Isabella Brancati to close out the win.

Principia opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Zoe Houseman sent in a free kick from deep that soared over the Trojan goalie and found the back. Less than ten minutes later, Kiara Smith doubled the lead as she used her speed to weave through the defense and around the goalie to put Principia in control at 2-0.

From there, Hannibal-LaGrange put plenty of pressure on the Panther defense. The Trojans finished with 25 shots and 11 on goal, but Brancati and the Principia back line kept them off the scoreboard. Brancati made six of her saves in the first half to help the Panthers carry its two-goal cushion into halftime. The Trojans pressure continued after the break, but Principia held firm. Brancati added four more saves in the second half for her first win and first clean sheet as a Panther.

With the win, Principia improves to 1-1 on the season and will head to Kansas City on Monday, September 7 to take on Spurgeon College at 10:30 AM.