GREENSBORO, N.C. – Commanding the tempo from the opening kick, the Guilford College women's soccer team (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ODAC) claimed the first win for their bench commander,
Dakota Rock '15, at his alma mater, blanking Mary Baldwin University (0-1-0, 0-0-0 USA South) with a 2-0 season-opening victory on Friday night at Appenzeller Field at the Armfield Athletic Center.
Uncontested in her collegiate debut,
Madison Motto (Waxhaw, N.C.) faced four shots but none on net, to claim her first victory in net to improve to 1-0-0. Amelia Cross was under steady duress with 29 shots sent her way with a dozen on target. She made ten saves but permitted two goals to drop to 0-1-0.
The Quakers created pressure early and often accruing 29 total shots to MBU's four, with their most-frequent options being
Lily Brown (Boone, N.C.),
Ashlyn Kahre (Fort Mill, S.C.), and
Ainsley Yates (West End, N.C.), with Yates being the one who broke the ice for GC with her first career game-winning tally. Both Brown and Kahre pitched in assists on the evening, but the other Guilford goal-scorer was freshman
Sarah Miller (Charlotte, N.C.) who found twine in her collegiate debut.
For the Fighting Squirrels, there was not much offense to be featured with Mackenzie Shores leading with two shots off frame while Addison Hannigan and Joelle Hare added single attempts apiece.
Guilford applied immediate pressure with Yates taking the team's first shot on frame just under two and a half minutes in and it was just the beginning as the hosts piled up 11 shots through the first 44 minutes of play, but it was the 12
th attempt that finally got home. Pushing a counter-attack down the left wing, Brown attempted a cross that got blocked by a Fighting Squirrels defender, resulting in her gaining even better positioning to the top-left corner of 18'. She sent the ball across to the center of the box, finding Yates' about ten yards out, and the junior used her head for a nifty redirect into the bottom-left of the net to break the ice with her first tally in the 45
th minute.
Upping the attack early in the second frame with high-quality looks, it did not take GC very long to net their second tally of the match. In the 58
th minute, Kahre let loose a left-footed shot from the top of the box off the left post. Screened by her own teammate, Cross had to dive to tip the shot wide, but could not control the carom as it trickled to the right post and the awaiting Miller who took advantage of the uncontested, point-blank chance with a tip-in score and the first of her collegiate career. The defense took care of things the rest of the way, locking up Guilford's fifth-consecutive season-opening win.
The Quakers return to the pitch on Sunday, August 31
st, making the quick trip down to Winston-Salem to play Carolina University at 2:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
