Box Score
Box score
CENTRAL, S.C. - After scoring a pair of goals in her debut on
Thursday, newcomer Idoia Agirre tallied four goals to propel
Anderson University women's soccer to a 7-1 rout of in-state rival
Southern Wesleyan on Saturday evening at Childs Field.
With the victory, the Trojans begin the 2015 season with a 2-0
record, matching last season's opening mark. The Warriors, who
opened their season on Saturday, fall to 0-1.
The Black and Gold held the ball in their attacking zone for the
majority of the contest, out-shooting the opposition, 33-5,
headlined by a 21-2 mark after the first 45 minutes. A total of 12
different players for AU fired shots on the evening, as Agirre led
the team with seven total shots, with all of them troubling SWU
goalkeeper Courtney McNeil. Senior Emily Cowan and newcomer Marie
Yasmine Alidou followed with six shots apiece.
"It was a slow start, but once the goals started flowing, there
was no looking back," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said.
"The experienced players showed great leadership and the
performance allowed us to get the whole squad involved. In
addition, it was another standout performance from Idoia
tonight."
Agirre becomes the first Trojan since Lyssa Engle a season ago
to record four goals in a match, as she increased her season total
to six after just two matches. After a convincing 4-0 victory over
Shorter on Thursday, Anderson has outscored its opponents, 11-1;
with Agirre totaling more than half of the team's scoring
output.
Agirre opened the evening's scoring in the 27th minute when she
was fed a pass from Cowan and the forward push a shot past McNeil.
For Cowan, the assist was her first of the season after tying for
the team lead in assists a year ago.
Moments before the first-half horn, sophomore Abbey Mills found
the scoresheet for the first time in her career after receiving a
pass from Agirre. The goal would take the match into the halftime
break with the Trojans clinging to a 2-0 advantage.
Agirre continued the scoring streak when she added back-to-back
goals just six seconds apart in the 48th minute to increase AU's
lead to 4-0. On her second goal of the evening, Agirre found some
help from teammate Ali Palacios, who recorded her first point of
her career with the assist.
After Southern Wesleyan's Beth Spence put the home side on the
scoreboard with a 61st minute goal, Anderson bounced back when
freshman Kenzie Van Heusen nabbed her third goal of the year after
grabbing a pass from junior Alaina Gay. For Gay, the assist was her
second in as many matches.
Agirre added her fourth goal of the evening in the 70th minute
to push the score to 6-1, while Van Heusen knocked in her second
goal in the 80th minute to close Anderson's scoring. Cowan tallied
her second assist of the evening on Agirre's final goal, as she is
currently tied with Gay for the team lead with two assists. Van
Heusen added her fourth goal of the season, as she has scored two
goals in AU's first two matches of the year.
Between AU's posts, freshman Abby Helm collected her second win
on the young season, as she finished the evening with two saves
while seeing five total shots. On the opposite end, SWU's McNeil
corralled 11 saves on Anderson's 18 shots on goal.
Anderson looks to continue its winning ways on Wednesday when it
hits to road to Erskine in search of a Beville Cup point. Kick-off
from Due West, S.C. is scheduled for 5 p.m.