LEXINGTON, Va. - Shelby Hooe (Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover H.S.) scored two goals to lead the Gardner-Webb University women's soccer team (2-4) to a 3-1 victory over the Virginia Military Institute (1-3) on Monday afternoon at Patchin Field.
Gardner-Webb put together a great offensive performance, as it outshot VMI by a 20-7 margin, and was led by Hooe who tied a career-high with seven shots.
Defensively, the Runnin' Bulldogs remained stout the entire game, limiting the Keydets to just four shots on goal.
Gardner-Webb forced the pace on offense right from the opening kickoff, as it recorded six shots before VMI recorded its first shot in the 26th minute.
The offensive push finally paid off for GWU, as Hooe netted the first of her two goals in the 31st minute, to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage. She dribbled the ball towards the goal from thirty yards out and slid a shot past the Keydet goalkeeper, for her fourth goal of the season.
Just three minutes later, Hooe was at it again, as she managed to get to the ball after Kristen Hancock made a save, and tip it into the net to increase the GWU lead, 2-0, as that would remain the score headed into halftime.
Opening the second half, Amy Schmitt (Waxhaw, N.C. / Marvin Ridge H.S.) replaced Krista Chauvin (Seekonk, Mass. / UMass Dartmouth) in goal for Gardner-Webb.
The Keydets had a great opportunity in the 51st minute, to cut the GWU lead in half, as Nicole Blixt put a great shot on frame, only to have it drill the cross bar, and stay out of the goal.
Two minutes later, Blixt did score for the Keydets to trim the Gardner-Webb lead to just one goal, as she was on the receiving end of a cross, and managed to tip the ball into the goal, for her first goal of the season.
The game remained in the balance until the 70th minute, when Ashley Carmean (Ashburn, Va. / Briar Woods H.S.) scored her first goal of the season. She brought the ball down off a high tip, and slid it past the goalkeeper into the net, to give Gardner-Webb the 3-1 victory.
After the match, head coach Mike Varga had these remarks, " Feels good to get the win. VMI is a hard working tough team to play on the road, so I am proud of our girls standing up to the challenge, and scoring a couple goals. We remained calm when they scored against the run of play in the second half, and Ashley answered with a quality finish to put us up 3-1."
The Runnin' Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Sept. 12) when they take on South Carolina State, in the Border Classic. Friday's match will be played in Spartanburg, S.C. at 5:00 p.m.
