Box Score
ATHENS, W.Va.--With the help of three goals from sophomore
Kari Simon, the Concord University women's soccer team defeated Shepherd 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.
"We have put a lot of pressure on our forwards to finish their opportunities," head coach Stefani Workman said. "Kari took it to heart. I thought Sami played very well in the midfield today and it showed with her assist on Kari's first goal."
Simon became the first women's soccer player to record a hat trick since Kelsey Ballard on October 3, 2010 against Salem. Simon now has a team-high, and conference-best, seven goals this season.
The first goal for Simon was set up by the great midfield play of junior
Sami Spertzel, who crossed the ball towards the right side of the field to Simon's head as she beat Shepherd goalie Elizabeth Wise at the 12:27 mark of the first half.
The second strike from Simon came in the 19th minute when her initial shot was blocked down in front of the net, but her follow up attempt found the goal.
Shepherd ended the shutout off of an Erika Martin goal 13 minutes into the second half and it appeared Shepherd would tie the game seven minutes later, but freshman goalkeeper
Kristin Twomey blocked away a powerful free kick from Kelsey N. Smith to preserve the Mountain Lion lead.
Simon added her third goal to secure the hat trick and Concord's two-goal victory with a blast from just outside of the penalty box in the 74th minute.
On the afternoon, CU tallied nine shots on goal with four from Simon, two from freshman forward
Emily Cole and one each from Spertzel, junior forward
Nikki Jarrell and freshman back
Kiana Brown.
Twomey was stellar in net for the Mountain Lions, stopping nine shots to improve her record to 4-3-1 on the season.
The win snaps Concord four-game losing streak and improves its record to 4-6-1 overall on the season and 2-5-1 in Mountain East play. Shepherd drops to 5-5-2 overall and 2-4-2 in league games.
As a team, Shepherd held slight edges over Concord in total shots (17-15) and corner kicks (5-2)
"We needed to get a win today and keep pace with everyone else in our conference," Workman said. "We got West Virginia Wesleyan next and we will be looking for three more points."
CU will be at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Concord tied with the Bobcats 1-1 earlier in the season.
