GREENSBORO, N.C. – Scoring its most goals since the 2007 season, the UNCG women’s soccer team improved to 2-1-0 on the year with a 7-0 victory over UNC Asheville Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans’ seven goals scored are their most since posting a 7-0 victory over the Citadel October 18, 2007.

“This was the exact performance we were looking for coming off a massive result against Wake Forest,” said head coach Steve Nugent. “The freshmen have come into the season with the right mentality coming in and learning from the upperclassmen.”  

Redshirt-senior forward Cat Barnekow (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) scored two goals and handed out an assist to lead the Spartans to victory. The five points scored ties Barnekow’s career mark for a single game, matching the five-point output against Georgia Southern (10/1/10). Freshman forward Tabitha McHale (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove) scored her first two career goals, finding the back of the net in the 73^rd and 83^rd minutes.

“It was really exciting scoring my first goal, Zoe did a great job by taking her shot which made it really easy for me to put the ball into the back of the net,” said Barnekow. “It is exciting to see how well our defense is playing early on.”

The Spartans started the scoring early in the fourth minute after sophomore Ashley Stokes (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) made a nice cross to freshman Zoe Fishman (Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real Charter) who fired a shot on net but UNC Asheville goalkeeper Heather Muller made the initial save. On the rebound, Barnekow scored to give UNCG a 1-0 lead.  

Just two minutes later, the Blue and Gold made it 2-0 after senior Karin Sendel (Kiryat Tivon, Israel/Ohio State) scored a one-touch goal on a perfect cross from teammate Barnekow.

UNCG continued its early pressure after Fishman made a run and crossed a ball into the box that classmate Chesney White (Franklin, Tenn./Franklin) put home for her second goal of the season.

In the 35 minute, redshirt junior Nitang Jones (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) took a corner kick and immediately passed to freshman Mallory Ullrich (South Riding, Va./Freedom) who lined a perfect left-footed strike into the net for the fourth goal of the half.

The Spartans ended the first half with 15 shots and five corner kicks, while holding UNC Asheville to just three shots and zero corners.

In the second half, UNCG would continue to attack as Fishman placed another cross into the box that found Barnekow, who header home her second goal of the contest.

McHale closed out the scoring with two goals late in the game. Fishman finished with five shots, two on frame and a team-high three assists.

Freshman Candice Forbes (Pleasant Garden, N.C./Southeast Guilford) was robbed on a couple of occasions as she had a game-high eight shots with six on goal.    
 

The Spartans finished the game with 30 shots and eight corner kicks. Freshmen Jamie Simmons (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook) and Jesse McGinley (Truckee, Calif./Truckee) each finished a half in goal to keep the shutout.
 

UNCG returns to action next weekend to take part in the UK Tropical Smoothie Invitational in Lexington, Ky. where they will face Kentucky and Louisville.  

 

- UNCG -

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