Bobcats breeze past Knights, 10-0
MaryBeth Sullivan (Greensboro, N.C.) and Jessica O’Leary (Millbury, Mass.) each scored two goals, as Vickie Rich(Arlington Heights, Ill.) added three assists to lead the Lees-McRae College women’s soccer team to a 10-0 win over visiting St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.
Lees-McRae (1-2, 1-0 CC) tallied 51 shots while holding St. Andrews (1-2, 0-1 CC) without an attempt on goal, as the Bobcats scored eight times in the first half en route to their largest margin of victory since LMC posted a 10-0 win over Spartanburg Methodist College on October 6, 1990.
Sullivan paced the Bobcats with two goals and one assist, while O’Leary added two goals and Rich tallied a team-high three assists. Brooke Santerre (Port Republic, Md.) added a goal and two assists, as Meagan Thornton (Millville, N.J.), Arianna Smith (Jackson, N.J.), Katy McGee (Hudson, Fla.), and Mary Bowers (Alexandria, Va.) each found the back of the net in a balanced offensive effort. Senior Mary Gibson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) also added an assist, while Alicia Pierson (Brookville, Fla.) and Kaitlyn Briggs (Oviedo, Fla.) each played one half in goal for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats got on the board less than three minutes into the match, taking an early 1-0 lead on Sullivan’s first of the season off a cross from Gibson. Thornton doubled the advantage midway through the ninth minute, tallying her first collegiate goal off a short corner from Rich. O’Leary pushed the margin to 3-0 late in the 17th minute, taking possession of a failed clearing attempt 30 yards from goal and delivering a masterful finish into the far corner of the net.
After Santerre pushed the lead to 4-0 in the 20th minute off a pair of drop offs from Sullivan and Rich, Sullivan netted her second goal of the day early in the 24th minute with a lovely finish into the bottom corner from 20 yards distance. O’Leary converted from the spot less than a minute later, pushing the margin to 6-0 before the Bobcats’ lead swelled to seven tallies following an own goal in the 29th minute.
Bowers delivered perhaps the most beautiful goal of the day late in the 41st minute, sending a glanching header into the back of the net off a perfect cross from Santerre to send the Bobcats into the interval with an 8-0 advantage. McGee pushed the margin to 9-0 midway through the 78th minute, redirecting a driven corner from Rich off a defender and into the back of the net. Smith then added the final tally of the day in the 83rd minute, delivering a one-touch finish past the keeper off a free kick from Santerre.
Lees-McRae returns to the pitch on Wednesday when the Bobcats travel to Bristol, Tenn. to take on conference newcomer King College in a 3 p.m. matchup.
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