Box score
MARS HILL, N.C. --- The Mars Hill College
women's soccer team scored early in the first half, and withstood a
furious attack by Lees-McRae College to hold on for a narrow 1-0
win in NCAA Division II Southeast Region action on Saturday
evening.
Lees-McRae (12-4-1) outshot the Lions (7-10-1) by a 21-4 margin,
including an 11-2 advantage in the first half, while holding a 10-0
edge in corner kicks. Mars Hill goalkeeper Becca Sellars made 10
saves to keep a clean sheet, as Lees-McRae's Kaitlyn Briggs
(Oviedo, Fla.) was credited with one stop.
Kaitlyn Kerrigan (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) paced the Bobcats with
five attempts at goal, while Meagan Thornton (Millville, N.J.) took
four shots on the night. Alyssa Morris notched the lone goal of the
night for Mars Hill, while Jamila Walker was credited with an
assist.
Mars Hill scored the breakthrough midway through the fourth
minute, when Morris took a pass from Walker and finished from 35
yards distance to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead. The Bobcats
responded quickly, putting constant pressure on the Lion backline
and outshooting Mars Hill by an 11-1 margin over the remaining 41
minutes of the first half. Mars Hill would deny the equalizer on
each of those attempts, as Sellars made six saves to preserve the
one-goal advantage heading into the interval.
The Bobcats put the pressure on once again in the second half
winning five corner kicks in the opening five minutes of the period
but were unable to convert on the set pieces. Mars Hill held on
from there, as Sellars made four saves down the stretch to preserve
the clean sheet.
Lees-McRae returns to the pitch on Monday when the top-seeded
and Conference Carolinas regular season champion Bobcats host
eighth-seeded Erskine College in the quarterfinal round of the
Conference Carolinas Tournament at 7 p.m.
- LMC -
