CLEVELAND, Ga. –
Isabella Hodson cashed in on two penalty kick opportunities as No. 1 Truett McConnell women's soccer defeated No. 4 Pikeville 3-0 to advance to its sixth straight Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament final.
Its goals number 13 and 14 of the seasons for the senior as her point total rises to 33.
Meg Labarbera also joined in with an unassisted goal in the 78
th minute, completing the three-goal performance.
TMU outshot the Bears 18-9 with ten shots on target compared to four. The hosts had more corner kicks (4-3) as Pikeville committed more fouls with 15 to Truett's ten. The two yellow cards issued were against the team at 30:24 and Anna Dudas 58:19.
Salome Deneubourg created the first shot for the Lady Bears in the fifth minute, but the header attempt was blocked by the Bear defense. With a Pikeville corner two minutes later, a Sadie Bourgeois shot was stopped by
Noa del Rio, who collected four saves on the day.
An offside call on TMU changed possession before a shot by the visitors was again kept out by the freshman goalkeeper. In the 32
nd minute, a foul on an advancing Lady Bears set up the first penalty kick opportunity, a chance that Hodson did not miss on.
The scoreboard read 1-0 in favor of the home team. A pair of shots, one on target by UPIKE and the other wide right by
Peyton Brooks was all the action left in the first half.
Hodson started the second half fast with a shot in the first two minutes, a ball that was blocked. With a corner kick by
Agathe Braud,
Erin Ward sent a ball on target, but keeper Claire Cress made the stop. Both teams traded shots to follow, but the ball never found the back of the net.
Junior
Peyton Brooks put a ball towards the keeper and had a second chance with a rebound, but Cress would not let one through as the margin remained at a single goal/ A foul on Pikeville set up the second penalty kick for Hodson in the 59
th minute as the captain buried it, putting TMU up 2-0.
Pikeville had two shot opportunities late in the match, but both attempts sailed wide of the net. On an unassisted play, Labarbera drilled the third goal for the Lady Bears to mark her first of her career. The score held firm the rest of the way as Truett advanced.
The Lady Bears will once again face the Lady Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan in the AAC tournament final match at the TMU Soccer Complex on Nov. 11.
