MOUNT OLIVE (Nov. 12) – Behind five goals in the first half on Saturday afternoon, the No. 7 Trojans captured a 7-0 shutout victory against Coker in South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play on Senior Day at the Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive field hockey team outright wins the Piedmont Division Championship title in the conference and receives a bye to the semifinals of the league tournament. The Trojans finished the regular season with a 13-2 record in division play behind a perfect 12-0 mark in league action. Mount Olive currently holds on the longest winning streak in Division II with 13 wins. Meanwhile, the Cobras fall to 6-10 overall and 5-7 in conference play.
At the start of the match, a penalty corner opportunity was given to UMO within the opening minutes. A shot by freshman
Jule Schuurman was taken at the top of the circle and was tipped in by sophomore
Morgan Paterson at the 3:08-mark, 1-0. Shortly after, a through ball by sophomore
Annefleur Moerkerken was sent to freshman
Nikki Bos, who beat the Cobra keeper one-on-one to extend the lead to 2-0 in the first quarter. To close the quarter, Schuurman took advantage of her space and delivered a backhand shot for a goal at the 12:14-mark, 3-0.
In the second quarter, junior
Brisa Uviedo collected her first goal of the season off a rebound in the 17th minute of the match, 4-0. At the 29:36-mark, sophomore
Jess Aylward sent the ball to the far post and connected with teammate
Zoe Nunez-Bauer, who tipped it into the top left corner of the cage, 5-0.
The Trojans scored in the initial minutes of the second half after Paterson scored her second goal of the game following an assist from junior
Avery Congleton, 6-0. Nearly four minutes later, Bos ripped a shot at the top of the circle putting it past the keeper to stretch the lead to 7-0.
Sophomore
Alanna Barrett and freshman
Amanda Parr combined for the complete game shutout at goalkeeper after tallying three saves in the win.
The Trojans out-shot the Cobras 24-5, including a 15-3 lead in shots on goal. Both sides were tied with five penalty corners in the match.
UMO is idle for nearly a week before returning to action on Friday, Nov. 18 to face the winner of No. 2 Newberry vs No. 3 Coker in the semifinals hosted by Converse, starting at 2 p.m.
