St. Louis, MO – The eighth-ranked Patriots netted five first half goals, from five different players, and made a pair of second half saves to earn the 5-0 win over Missouri Baptist Thursday afternoon. It marks the ninth consecutive season opener that UC has won.
Abigail Little and
Juana Fernandez Calvo led the way for the Patriots with three points apiece. The three points marked a career-high for Fernandez Calvo, while
Wakana Ose netted her first goal as a Patriot.
Carola Fontan and
Nicole Araujo each chipped in a goal as
Madison Long notched her first career assist.
Morgan White and
Ella Gilliam combined for two saves in their Patriot debut.
The Patriots took control of the match early earning a corner kick in the 5'. After the Spartans played the ball out,
Samantha Sokolove crossed a well placed ball into the box for
Juana Fernandez Calvo who chipped it over to
Abigail Little for the finish, giving UC the 1-0 lead. A few minutes later,
Nicole Araujo started a transition as UC played the ball up the left flank. The ball was crossed into the box where Little placed it for Fernandez Calvo to score make it a 2-0 lead with 34:14 remaining. Cumberlands extended their lead off a set piece as Araujo crossed the ball into the box where
Madison Long dished in back to
Carola Fontan for a goal making it 3-0 midway through the first half. That assists was the first career point for the senior defender Long. The Patriots continued to control the possession as UC defense forced a turnover to give Araujo possession. The senior utilized great footwork before putting a well-placed shot into the net to make it 4-0. In the closing minutes of the half, Ines Martin played the ball forward to
Wakana Ose, who made one touch before lobbing a shot into the net giving the Patriots a 5-0 lead.
UC continued their strong play into the second half as Martin put a pair of shots on frame in the first six minutes of the period. The Spartan looking to get on the board in the 59' as Anna White put a shot on frame, however,
Morgan White made the save keeping Missouri Baptist scoreless. Cumberlands rattled off five more shots, with three on frame over the next ten minutes. Both teams traded possession over the final 20 minutes of play with
Ella Gilliam making her first collegiate save in the 89' to complete the clean sheet.
The Patriots outshot the Spartans 23-2 in the match and held a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Cumberlands returns to the pitch on Saturday, August 23, when they face #12 Missouri Valley. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
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