SALISBURY, N.C. — The ninth-ranked Catawba College women's soccer team pounded the back of the net in a 9-1 knockout of South Atlantic Conference foe Mars Hill at Frock Field on a rain-soaked Saturday night.
Bree Ehmer headlined the active offensive attack with her second career hat trick, scoring three goals with one assist for a monster seven-point day. Harper Dussouy added her first collegiate goal and chipped in two dimes – that makes three assists for the week. Ella Matthews both scored and assisted a goal as fellow senior Ali Skinner had a goal and Natalie Peterson gained two points on a pair of helpers. Agnethe Vestergaard Heron, Kennedy McGuire and Alex Eguren wrapped up the scoresheet with their first career goals for the blue and white.
Aisley Snell got the call at goalie, going the distance to pick up her first career win; despite not logging a save, the Brunswick, Maine, product turned down multiple crosses and helped rebuff the visitors' lone corner kick.
Catawba (5-1, 2-0 SAC) limited its opponent to exactly one corner for the third time this season while earning six opportunities. The separation was mirrored by the shot count that favored the Catawba Indians by a whopping 25-4 margin; the hosts fired 16 shots on goal against the Lions' (1-3-1, 0-1-1 SAC) one on-target try. Mars Hill was penalized more often with a 2-1 gap in yellow cards and a 11-8 divide in the foul category.
After three corner kicks and three shots, Catawba finally got on the board in the 18th minute when a cross into the box lured the MHU keeper out of position and Ehmer took advantage, sending a right-footer curling into the twine. Kate Robinson supplied an on-target shot three minutes later, then the next on-frame attempt was Ehmer's second goal of the day with a one-timer perfectly set up by Dussouy.
The rain, which started around the Catawba Indians' first goal, morphed into a monsoon that seemed to intensify with every score by the hosts. It certainly did not slow down when Dussouy hoped to duplicate the second strike with another inside pass. This time, Ehmer was tripped up by a collision with a Lion defender as Matthews received the rock, settling it and sending a shot past the outstretched keeper to make it 3-0.
The Lions were deprived of offensive chances for the last 18 minutes of the period as Catawba began to empty the bench but still hunted for opportunities with a three-goal edge at halftime.
Cadence Setzer and Ehmer missed high on the first two shots coming out of the break. The latter passed up a third goal to find Dussouy wide open at the six-yard box; the freshman stabbed her foot into the soaked surface and chipped it to the top bin for her first career score. Kaitlyn Johnson sent a challenging shot from the wing that was pushed away in the 53rd minute. The Dahlonega, Ga., native continued to push, spearheading the next offensive charge and connecting with Ehmer in the box, helping set up the senior to elude a defender and slide in a left-footed boot to complete the hatty.
Up 5-0 in the 57th minute, the blue and white refreshed its lineup with a heavy substitution that ultimately paid off when Matthews hammered a cross toward the goalie who deflected it up to the crossbar. Vestergaard Heron was on the spot for the rebound, one-timing it back in as the Lions were unable to stop it until the ball crossed the line to mark goal number six.
The defense broke up the Lions' first and only corner kick of the game, then flipped the field to create a corner opportunity for the Catawba Indians. Peterson lofted a picturesque cross into a crowd of heads, successfully finding Skinner whose standing header slipped inside the left post. Peterson came in clutch again soon after the ensuing kickoff as she crossed a ball through the box to McGuire all alone on the wing. The rookie sent a shot ricocheting off the underside of the crossbar and in, upping the score to 8-0 with the 15-minute running clock looming.
The final Catawba dart developed at midfield when Melina Sanguine won possession at midfield, threading a pass between two Lions to a sprinting Eguren. The freshman had both the edge and pace on her defender, coming up on the keeper whose attempt to stuff it failed as Eguren snuck a shot into the opposite side of the net.
Mars Hill fended off being shut out with a 79th-minute header toward a vacated net, narrowly getting it inside the left post despite a solid contest by Riley Alexander. The Catawba Indians looked to exact revenge and reach a double-figure goal total, but Gabriella Keyser posted a couple of denials in the 87th minute to finalize the score at 9-1.
Nine goals is the Catawba Indians' best mark against a South Atlantic Conference opponent since the 2009 season and a program high against Mars Hill across 41 meetings.
The blue and white are back on the road next week, facing its largest challenge in recent history at defending national champion and top-ranked Florida Tech on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Kickoff against the Panthers, who drew Nova Southeastern on Saturday night, is slated for noon in Melbourne, Fla.
