MONMOUTH, Ill. - Ripon lost to Monmouth College Saturday afternoon by a score of 2-1 in a game that served as the conference opener for both squads. The Fighting Scots also held an 18-10 advantage in shots, out-shooting Ripon 9-5 in each half.

Monmouth (6-3-0, 1-0-0 MWC) broke a scoreless tie a few minutes before halftime on a Diana Salamanca goal. Ripon (6-2-0, 0-1-0 MWC) waited until the other side of halftime to tie things up, as freshman Meghan McCarthy scored just 59 seconds into the second half on an assist from Paige Pierce. The score would remain tied until the 78th minute when Hannah Kugler connected on the go-ahead score, thanks to an assist from Natalie Wolski.

"This was a difficult game in extremely hot conditions," Ripon Head Coach Greg Ruark said. "It was tough for either team to keep possession, so it became a track meet, and that's hard to defend."

Ripon will try to bounce back on Sunday when they'll travel to Cornell College. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.