MOC women look to snap scoreless skid

Published in Sports on September 8, 2006 2:11 PM

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The last time the Mount Olive women's soccer team was shut out in consecutive matches, the Trojans responded with eight goals in their next two contests. The Trojans hope for some déjà vu Saturday.

Mount Olive hopes to snap a two-match scoreless skid as the Trojans play host to Queens in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference opener for both teams. Match time is 1 p.m. at Trojan Field.

Mount Olive (4-2-0) won its first four matches of the season, but suffered a 1-0 overtime loss Sunday to nationally 20th-ranked Catawba and a 2-0 loss Wednesday against UNC Pembroke. The Trojans were even in shots in both matches, outshooting UNC Pembroke 12-5 in the second half.

Junior midfielder April Jacobs leads the Trojans with three goals and four assists, while junior forwards Kate Painter and Caitlyn Wright have three assists apiece. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Ali O'Steen has a 0.81 goals against average and ranks 28th in the nation with an .881 save percentage.

Queens (2-3-0) is coming off a 2-1 non-conference win over Concord. The Royals have posted back-to-back wins after dropping their first three matches of the season.

After starting off 0-9-0 all-time against Queens, Mount Olive has won each of the last two meetings against the Royals, including a come-from-behind 3-2 victory last year at Charlotte. Gina Dos Santos and Jessica Smoot scored goals six minutes apart late in the second half for the win.

Including CVAC Tournament matches, Mount Olive is 11-1-0 at home against CVAC opponents over the last two seasons.