MOC women notch first soccer win of 2013

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 23, 2013 1:47 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Connect the dots.

Mount Olive College head women's soccer coach Matt Hisler offered that advice all afternoon to his team that had suffered a heart-breaking overtime loss just 24 hours earlier.

The Trojans followed Hisler's advice and constructed a 7-2 victory over Lincoln (Pa.) University on a rain-soaked pitch at Amon Field on Sunday afternoon. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools.

"The girls, I thought they worked really, really hard," said Hisler, whose team fell 3-2 in overtime to North Greenville (S.C.) University on Saturday.

"They did a good job matching their passes to the movements of their teammates, so they made the game easier on themselves. That's something we've been working really hard at (in practice) and I was glad to see them get a little joy today."

Sophomore forward Jaclyn Thomas punched in two goals and assisted on another goal for the Trojans, who improved to 9-3-0 all-time against Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association foes since 1998. Maddy Robak and Rae Williams supplied two assists apiece.

Six MOC players recorded at least one goal on the day.

The Trojans (1-4-1 overall) needed just 95 seconds to slosh past the Lions' defense for their first goal. Alex Wetherholt crossed a ball into the box that deflected off of a Lincoln player and Ellie Barnes put away the rebound.

Roughly four minutes later, Wetherholt ran onto a through ball and tucked it away for her third goal of the season.

"You look at the girls on the field today, they did a good job of having a good focus and good attention to detail whereas in previous games they may have relaxed a little bit too much," Hisler said. "They led on the field today, set some good examples and that's why they were able to find a few more (goals)."

The Lions (2-2-1) shaved the deficit in half on Tara O'Brien's penalty kick in the 17th minute. Mount Olive seized command with five unanswered goals over the next 63-plus minutes.

Robak's service into the box enabled Damilia Brooks to record the eventual game-winning goal in the 29th minute. Brooks lofted a shot over Lincoln keeper Chloe Grice and the Trojans continued to apply pressure the remainder of the half.

Williams hooked up with Thomas in the 37th minute for the Trojans' fourth goal.

"We've talked about leaving room for mistakes so they don't take away from the result that we're looking for," Hisler said of team's reaction after the PK.

"I thought the girls responded well. They believe in each other and try to pick each other up. When you do stuff like that, you make things a lot easier."

Thomas, Carlee Bock and Lauren Power each tallied a second-half goal. Brooks, Robak, Williams and Thomas were each credited with one assist during the Trojans' biggest offensive output since a 7-2 romp over CIAA and in-state foe Chowan University in 2011.

MOC owned a 22-7 edge in shots and 7-1 advantage in corners. The teams combined for 29 fouls and five yellow cards.