Box Score
Mount Olive, N.C.----The Wingate University women’s soccer team scored four goals in less than six second-half minutes to take a 5-0 NCAA Division II victory over Mount Olive College Tuesday night at Amon Field. The contest was the season opener for the Bulldogs.
Wingate junior forward Kerstin Williams (Summerville, S.C.) tallied a hat trick to lead the visiting Bulldogs (1-0 overall). Thanks to the offensive fireworks provided by Williams and her teammates, Wingate matches the five-goal mark against Mount Olive (0-2 overall) for the third year in a row. The Bulldogs bested the Trojans 5-0 last season and 5-1 in 2007.
Mount Olive narrowly missed taking an early lead when Brittany Thurlow’s 20-yard shot went inches wide of the left post in the 10th minute. Trojan defender Tia Rose helped keep the match scoreless during an interesting sequence in the 35th minute.
A collision between Trojan goalkeeper Jenn Sastre and Wingate freshman forward Chloe’ Donaldson (Eagle Springs, N.C.) sent both players down and left the Mount Olive goal open. Rose stopped a long range shot and cleared the ball out of bounds. Sastre and Donaldson both remained in the game as the two teams went into halftime tied 0-0.
Wingate pressured early and often in the second half. Sastre made saves on three shots, including a kick save on a breakaway. Williams broke the deadlock and opened the floodgates with a goal from a corner kick at the 54:01 mark.
Williams’ header at 57:46 gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Bulldog junior forward Jenni Barbett (Severn, Md.) scored 70 seconds later. Williams completed her hat trick and Wingate’s scoring spurt 49 seconds later to extend the lead to 4-0.
Sophomore midfielder Casey King (Danvers, Mass.) added a final goal in the 80th minute. King’s tally was the first of her young Bulldog career.
Mount Olive had a chance to avoid the shutout in the final minute, but Rebeccah Hecke’s 19-yard shot was stopped by Wingate freshman goalkeeper Miriam Boucher (Calgary, Alberta). Classmate Catie Avery (East Hampton, Conn.) started the contest in goal for the Bulldogs, sharing the shutout with Boucher.
Sastre finished the night with eight saves for the Trojans. Wingate outshot Mount Olive 21-3, including a 13-2 advantage in the second half. The Bulldogs continue their road swing Thursday night, visiting Coker College for a 7 p.m. contest. Mount Olive entertains Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) University Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
