WILSON, N.C. (Nov. 4) – After conceding an early first-half goal on Saturday afternoon, the University of Mount Olive women's soccer team suffered a 1-0 defeat at Barton in the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas Championship.
With the loss, the Trojans finished the 2023 season with a 6-5-7 overall record under first-year head coach
Glad Bugariu. The two sides met for the third time this year after the initial pair of regular season matches both finished in a draw. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament behind a 7-5-5 mark and will face No. 1 seed UNC Pembroke on Nov. 10.
In the first half, Barton nearly took the lead at the 5:38 mark before senior
Jaslyn Gott made a team save directly in front of the net to keep the contest scoreless. Just over a minute later, Kassie Krul of Barton sent a corner kick to the far post and Taylor Smith headed it in for a goal to take the lead, 1-0. Sophomore
Addison Dangler registered the first shot in goal for the Trojans, which was stopped by goalkeeper at the 14:32 mark. In the 35th minute, senior
Makenna Copley blasted a free kick opportunity directly on goal, but the goalie forced it over the crossbar for a save. In the closing seconds of the first half, freshman
Malia Acevedo had a floating header collected by the goalkeeper. At the break, the Trojans trailed by one goal and held a 7-6 edge on shots.
Mount Olive controlled possession early in the second half and tallied six shots and two corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes. The Trojans nearly tied the contest in the 66th minute after header was blocked in front of the goal before Barton registered a team save. At the 69:54 mark, UMO once again almost found the net when a header off a corner kick hit the post before being cleared out of play. The Bulldogs would hit the crossbar twice in the closing minutes of the second half and ultimately sealed the 1-0 win to advance in the conference tournament.
Graduate student goalkeeper
Nicole Solicito totaled three saves on 14 shots faced while playing all 90 minutes.
The Trojans held a significant 28-14 lead in shots and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
