MOC sports roundup

Published in Sports on October 28, 2004 1:55 PM

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ROCKY MOUNT -- Freshman Gina Dos Santos collected her first collegiate hat trick (three goals) as Mount Olive defeated N.C. Wesleyan 3-1 in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon.

Dos Santos is the second Trojan this season to score a goal in eight consecutive matches, the seventh-longest goal scoring streak in NCAA II women's soccer history. Teammate Melanie Cobb scored a goal in eight straight matches earlier this season.

Mount Olive (16-3-0) got on the scoreboard barely eight minutes into the game on an assist by Kate Painter, the first of her two assists in the match. The Trojans outshot the Battling Bishops 12-0 in the first half, but went into halftime with only a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, N.C. Wesleyan (4-10-1) drew even at 1-1 on Amanda Vanvelzel's goal at the 52-minute, 59-second mark. But it took Dos Santos less than two minutes to put the Trojans back on top, as Heidi Philip served a ball from midfield to Val Buchite, who took two dribbles and served to Dos Santos for the go-ahead goal.

Dos Santos completed the hat trick in the 84th minute on an assist by Painter, her ninth assist of the year. Dos Santos now has 18 goals on the season, including 12 during her eight-match scoring streak.

Mount Olive outshot NCWC 24-4. Vanvelzel had all four shots for the Bishops.

Heather Ressler had one save for Mount Olive, while Lauren Tarbox recorded 12 saves for North Carolina Wesleyan.

Mount Olive concludes its regular season Saturday with a road game at Lees-McRae. The NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference match begins at 5:30 p.m.

Cobb, Worrell among nation's top players

MOUNT OLIVE -- Melanie Cobb ranks third in the nation in goals per game and Cory Worrell continues to rank in the top 10 in scoring as Mount Olive College is ranked in several team and individual categories in this week's NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Statistics Reports.

Cobb, who leads the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference in scoring and has ranked among the nation's top 10 scoring leaders all season, has a school-record 24 goals in 15 games for a 1.60 per game average. She also ranks sixth in the nation with 3.60 points per game (combined goals and assists). Heidi Philip ranks third in the nation in assists with 15 assists in 18 matches. Goalkeeper Heather Ressler's 0.76 goals against average is the 28th-lowest in the nation.

In the team statistics, Mount Olive ranks second in the nation in scoring offense with 82 goals in 18 matches, an average of 4.56 goals per game. The Trojans also rank 23rd in scoring defense with a 0.76 goals against average. Mount Olive has nine shutouts in 18 matches for the 26th-best shutout percentage. The Trojans' .833 winning percentage (15-3-0) is tied with UC San Diego for the 16th-highest in the nation.

Statistics do not include Mount Olive's 3-1 victory over North Carolina Wesleyan Wednesday.

On the men's side, Worrell ranks ninth in the nation with 20 goals in 18 matches for a 1.11 goals per game average. His 2.44 points per game average is the 12th-highest in the nation. After leading the nation in assists per game for two weeks, Warren Atkins ranks sixth with 15 assists in 18 matches. Goalkeeper Chris Roush returns to the top 30 in goals against average, coming in at No. 29 with a 0.97 GAA.

In the team stats, Mount Olive has the eighth-highest scoring offense with 61 goals in 18 matches for an average of 3.39 goals per game.

Trojan men slip

to sixth in region

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College slipped one spot to No. 6 in this week's NSCAA/Adidas Men's Soccer NCAA II Southeast Regional rankings. The Trojans had held the No. 5 position for the previous five weeks and have spent eight consecutive weeks in the top 10.

Mount Olive (12-4-2 overall, 7-2-0 CVAC) is one of three Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference teams in this week's rankings, joining No. 4 Queens and No. 7 Lees-McRae. UNC Pembroke remains at No. 1 in the region for the seventh consecutive week. The Trojans were tied with Queens in last week's poll, but fell to the Royals 1-0 Saturday.

The poll is compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Mount Olive concludes regular season play Saturday as the Trojans travel to Banner Elk to face Lees-McRae in a crucial CVAC contest. The Trojans, which have clinched homefield advantage in the first round of next week's CVAC Tournament, enter Saturday's contest in second place in the CVAC standings, one game ahead of Lees-McRae. Match time is 7:30 p.m.

CVACX-C championship set for this weekend

MOUNT OLIVE -- "Fall Madness" officially gets underway this week with the first conference championship of the 2004-05 academic year taking place Friday. Mount Olive College competes in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Cross Country Championship at Anderson, S.C. The women's race gets underway at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men's race at 10 a.m. The championship is hosted by Anderson College.

For the men's team, junior Tim Insley has been the Trojans' top finisher in each race this year. The Eastern Wayne High graduate placed first at the Methodist College Triangular Meet last week and earned a ninth-place finish out of 37 runners in the Ukrops Invitational in Virginia earlier this month. Insley says the course at Anderson is not easy, but he's hopeful for a good result.

"The course at Anderson has a lot of hills and it's a tough course to run," said Insley. "I'm hoping to finish in the top 15."

The top 15 finishers earn all-conference honors, with the winner being named CVAC Runner of the Year.

Insley narrowly missed All-Conference honorable mention at last year's championship, finishing 18th.

Also running for the Trojans are a trio of seniors -- Fernando Crisosto, Christof Franzsen and Alan Fricks -- along with freshman Kris Exum.

On the women's side, senior Becky Garrod, a member of the Mount Olive softball team in her first year of cross country, has been the Trojans' top finisher in all but one race this year. Senior Charlene Spadaccini, the lone returning cross country runner from last year, has been the Trojans' second-highest finisher most of the season. Sophomores Tamika Goff and Jillian Pruett, along with freshman Nicky Ross complete the field for the Trojans.

Mount Olive's Beth Martin, who graduated last December, won each of the last two CVAC women's cross country individual championships. Lees-McRae won both the men's and women's team championships last year.