#17 Golden Tigers Overwhelm #12 RedHawks
Three second half goals and stifling defensive play gave the #17 Brenau (Ga.) Women's soccer team (12-3-1, 8-1 SSAC) a convincing 4-0 win over the #12 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) (11-3-1, 7-2 SSAC) on Saturday afternoon.
In a battle for sole possession of second place in the Southern States Athletic Conference, the Golden Tigers wasted no time when in the 10th minute, midfielder Vanessa Alexander (Toronto, Canada) found senior Esther Anyanwu (Lagos, Nigeria) for the first Brenau goal.
Through the first half, the Golden Tigers defense held fast, allowing only four shots on goal, which allowed Brenau to take their 1-0 lead into the halftime.
Brenau, riding a five-match win streak, continued to play inspired soccer as three second-half goals stifled any hopes of a RedHawk comeback.
At 57:12, Jenny Knibbs (Doncaster, England) took a cross from Anyanwu for the second Brenau goal.
Anyanwu, who entered the match as the NAIA's second-ranked scorer, slipped a shot past keeper Aisling Dyer at 77:36 to stretch the Brenau lead to 3-0.
In the 80th minute, Knibbs capped off a two-goal, two assist performance notching her second goal of the match, again assisted by Anyanwu to make the score, 4-0.
The Golden Tigers dominated possession, outshooting the Redhawks 21-10. Brenau keeper Tori Brown (Windermere, FL) saved two goals, while Aisling Dyer saved 11 for Martin Methodist.
"This was our best game to date-- we put together 2 complete halves against an excellent Martin Methodist College side", said head coach Mike Lochstampfor. "Our defense was tremendous and I thought we put together some fantastic attacking opportunities and scored four really nice goals in the process. I'm so proud of this team-- to go on the road in this conference and get two wins, and 1 of this caliber- is a huge accomplishment."
Brenau returns to the pitch on Halloween night against Emmanuel (Ga.) College at 6:00 eastern. In their last regular season home contest, the Golden Tigers will honor their seven seniors before the match.