FRONT ROYAL, Va. Three goals in the early part of the first-half
set the tone for the Southern Virginia Women's Soccer team, and
paced them to strong 8-0 win over Christendom College. The first
goal came from Melanee Guymon at the 4:18 mark as she took a
curling pass from Kendra Heim and slotted it past the Crusader
keeper.
"To get that early goal really helped us," said Head Coach Matt
Grawrock. "After a scoreless tie last week, it's always good to get
a quick goal to settle the nerves. It also allowed us to dictate
the pace of the game. We were in control and not chasing the game."
The Knights pounced again quickly, as Taylor Osborn scooped up a
stray pass and rounded the Christendom keeper for the tap-in
two-goal lead. Osborn played provider later on in the half as she
put a cross in for Amber Key to head home, and the rout was on for
the Knights. Strong passing and interplay led to the next goal as
the Knights passed around the 18-yard box before Heim sent a
through ball that Osborn followed up for the fourth goal of the
half.
"We played at a high level today," said Grawrock. "Our passes
were clicking, our movement off the ball was good, and we created
and finished quality chances. It was a very good performance."
Tamara Nagle scored late in the first half as a scramble in the
box led to her back-heeling the ball into the net. The 5-0 score
line put the game out of reach, but the visitors were not in the
mood to ease up in the second half. Four minutes in to the second
term, and Guymon again took a feed from Heim to head past the
stranded Crusader keeper. Heim finally got in to the goal column as
she took a driven cross from Jaylynn Rust and beat the on-rushing
keeper. Key finished off the scoring in the 80th minute as she hit
a long drive from outside the 18, which beat the keeper in the
upper part of the goal.
"I'm happy with the win," said Grawrock. "I'm even happier
because we played a consistent game. We put two complete halves
together, and the goals came because we played the way were
supposed to, and didn't get greedy and 'me-first' attitudes. The
team won the game today, and it showed on the board.
The defense, led by Nagle, Rust and Whitni Watkins helped push
the teams total of shutouts to five for the season. The Knights
return to action Oct. 7 as they travel to play at Ferrum. Kickoff
is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
