Bobcats blank Falcons, 3-0

September 26, 2011

Vickie Rich (Arlington Heights, Ill.) scored a pair of goals, and MaryBeth Sullivan (Greensboro, N.C.) added a strike of her own to lead the Lees-McRae College women’s soccer team to a 3-0 win over Pfeiffer University on Sunday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.

Lees-McRae (5-2, 4-0 CC) continued its strong play in conference action, remaining atop the league table with its fourth straight clean sheet as the Bobcats have outscored conference opponents by a 22-0 margin so far this season. The Bobcats outshot the Falcons (3-5, 2-2 CC) by a 28-11 margin, including an 18-4 advantage in the first half.

Rich paced the Bobcats with two goals on seven attempts on frame, running her season total to three tallies while tying Meagan Thornton (Millville, N.J.) for the team-lead in match-winners with her second decisive strike of the campaign. Sullivan scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season, as Kaitlyn Kerrigan (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) and Allyson Titsworth (Holmes Beach, Fla.) each tallied an assist. Kaitlyn Briggs (Oviedo, Fla.) played the full 90 minutes between the pipes for the Bobcats, making two saves en route to her fourth clean sheet of the season.

Alyssa Wombwell led the way for Pfeiffer with four shots, as Brittany Papaj made three attempts at goal. Goalkeeper Brittany Polly made 17 saves on the afternoon, under nearly constant pressure from the Bobcat attack.

Rich put the Bobcats on the board midway through the 17th minute, making a run along the end line after a quick one-two from Kerrigan and slotting it home to give Lees-McRae an early 1-0 lead. Sullivan doubled the advantage to 2-0 in the 37th minute, tallying her sixth goal of the season with a masterful finish into the upper 90 from the top of the area.

The Bobcats maintained the two-goal margin until the 79th minute, when Titsworth found Rich unmarked in the area with a quick cross, putting the senior forward in perfect position to nod home the finish for her second goal of the day.

Lees-McRae returns to the pitch on Tuesday when the Bobcats travel to Harrogate, Tenn. to take on Lincoln Memorial University at 4p.m.

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