COLUMBIA, S.C. (Oct. 7, 2018) – Jessica Lanier led the Truett McConnell University women's soccer team with two goals of her own to defeat the Columbia College Fighting Koalas for their ninth straight win, ninth shutout and eighth Appalachian Athletic Conference victory of the season (6-0).
The Lady Bears, who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA national top 25 poll, improved to 10-1, 8-0 AAC on the year while the Fight Koalas dropped to 4-5-1, 3-3-1 AAC.
THE GOALS
Five different Lady Bears found the back of the net Sunday evening. Junior Susanna Peppers got TMU started out on the right foot netting the first goal of the night off the feet of Jennifer McCall in the first half. However, the Lady Bears really got the heat going in the second half. Lanier's first goal came on a penalty kick to put TMU at a two-goal advantage (2-0).
Lydia Williams was played the ball from Peppers enabling her to drill the ball into the far post with her left foot to score her team-leading ninth goal of her freshman campaign (3-0). Soon after, fellow freshman Sydney Ziglar placed the ball perfectly for Lanier's second goal of the night (4-0).
In addition, another TMU freshman, Finley Brisendine, drilled her first career goal to further magnify the Lady Bears' lead (5-0). J. McCall nailing the ball into the box led to TMU's final goal of the evening to fasten their eight AAC win and ninth shutout of the year (6-0).
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Very proud of the girls today," Head Coach David McDowell said. "Columbia is a tough place to come to and we had to be organized and disciplined. The first half was mostly a battle of attrition and we were happy to go in with a 1-0 lead. We made some changes going into the second half and the girls responded superbly to the adjustments. It's fun to watch this group of girls play soccer – they always compete and play for each other. As a coach, you can't ask for anything else."
UP NEXT
The Lady Bears will have five days of rest before hosting Milligan College on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 1:00 p.m.
