Lady Trojans cruise past Barton

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on October 19, 2006 2:06 PM

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Caitlyn Wright recorded a pair of assists for the second consecutive match and Kate Painter's goal in the ninth minute gave Mount Olive the lead for good as the Trojans defeated Barton 4-1 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's soccer Wednesday at Trojan Field. With the win, Mount Olive clinches a home match in the first round of next week's CVAC Women's Soccer Tournament.

Mount Olive (13-6-0 overall, 8-2-0 CVAC) broke a scoreless tie at the 8:25 mark as Wright's service from midfield went through a crowd of players to Painter, who carried the ball to the left side of the box and scored inside the far post. The goal was Painter's 11th of the season.

The Trojans added a goal in the 26th minute as Wright played a ball from midfield to Gina Dos Santos on the right side. Dos Santos crossed the ball to Lyndsay Brennan, who headed the ball inside the far post to give Mount Olive a 2-0 lead at the half. Brennan leads the Trojans with 12 goals.

Barton (9-6-0, 5-5-0) got on the scoreboard less than six minutes into the second half after a Mount Olive foul just above the Trojan third. Jessica Corsey took the restart and found Patricia Acosta, who crossed the ball to Marissa Macri for the goal to cut the Trojans' lead to 2-1.

But Mount Olive answered just over 10 minutes later as Jacobs played a restart from 25 yards out to White, who headed the ball in for her eighth goal of the season. Jacobs assist was her 15th of the season, tops in the nation.

Barton nearly made it a one-goal game again in 83rd minute on a 15-yard shot by Allie Wilkerson, but Trojan goalkeeper Ali O'Steen dove and deflected the ball just wide of the left post.

Mount Olive closed out the scoring on Jacobs' penalty kick with 5.6 seconds remaining.

After a 4-4 start, the Trojans have won nine of their last 11 matches.

"Things have been coming together for us," said Painter. "I think we're playing our best soccer of the season right now."

The Trojans outshot Barton 15-9. O'Steen finished with four saves for Mount Olive, while Ashley Gregory recorded two saves for the Bulldogs.

Mount Olive will be the No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the CVAC Tournament. The Trojans' first-round match is slated for Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Trojan Field. Mount Olive will also host the semifinals and championship October 27-28.

Mount Olive finishes up its regular season Saturday as the Trojans play host to Erskine in CVAC action. Saturday's match is Senior Day as Trojan seniors Emily Anthony and Molly Morrow will be honored prior to the game. Match time is 1 p.m. at Trojan Field.

In addition, Saturday's women's and men's soccer doubleheader will be dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted and will go towards local charities dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.

While the Trojans are excited to clinch a top four finish and a first-round home match for the third consecutive year, Painter says the team's first priority is Saturday's match against Erskine.

"We can't be thinking about the tournament right now," said Painter. "We have a big match Saturday against a good team and that's what we're focused on."