GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshman Lauren Hein had a career night with two goals and an assist and junior Kristin Player assisted on three goals as UNC Greensboro evened its record with a 4-0 win over High Point at UNCG Soccer Stadium on Thursday.
Tabitha Padgett and Nicole Danford also added goals for the Spartans (4-4), who won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Padgett got the scoring started in the 11th minute, taking a Player pass at the top of the 18-yard box and curling it into the upper right corner for an early 1-0 lead. That would be the last goal of the opening half, however, as neither defense yielded anything until after the break.
Hein picked up her first career goal shortly after the intermission, nodding home another Player pass in the 49th minute. Her low shot squibbed through the legs of High Point keeper Andrea Ritchie, who was seeing her first action of the season. Jen Bronson also picked up an assist on the play.
Hein added another goal in the 55th minute, firing a missile in from 35 yards out that beat Ritchie top shelf. Jaimey Etten got the play started with a pass short pass in the midfield to Jen Rincon, who dished the ball off to Hein. Hein then unloaded for goal No. 2 on the evening.
The freshman from Torrance, Calif., picked up her fifth point of the day with an assist in the 79th minute, taking a pass from Player and tapping it back to Danford, who finished the empty-netter with ease. The goal was Danford's first of the season.
UNCG starter Kelsey Kearney picked up the win in the net, working 75:09 with a save. Alex Perry came on and finished the shutout, working the final 14:51.
The Spartans outshot High Point (1-8) 16-5 on the evening. Only one of the Panthers' shots was on frame, but Kearney saved Laura Shupe's attempt in the 59th minute.
HPU keeper Marisa Abbott took the loss in the net, as she surrendered Padgett's goal in the first half. She made three saves in 45 minutes of work. Ritchie allowed three goals and made three saves of her own in 45 minutes.
Player has been on fire the last two games, as she has seven points in the last five days. In addition to her three assists Thursday, she had both goals in a 2-1 win over Duquesne on Sunday. She leads UNCG in goals (three), assists (four) and points (10) on the season.
The Spartans return to action on Friday, Sept. 25, when they host Southern Conference rival Furman at 7 p.m. UNCG will be putting its 31-match SoCon regular-season unbeaten streak on the line, as it has not lost a regular-season league game since a 4-3, double-overtime loss to the Paladins on Oct. 30, 2005. The Spartans are 29-0-2 since then, having won the last three regular-season SoCon titles.
AGATE
High Point (1-8) vs. UNC Greensboro (4-4)
Date: Sep 17, 2009 Attendance: 183
Weather: 70 degrees and cloudy, 85 percent humidity
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
High Point 0 0 0
UNC Greensboro 1 3 4
SCORING SUMMARY:
1 10:29 UNCG Tabitha Padgett (2) (Kristin Player)
2 48:03 UNCG Lauren Hein (1) (Jen Bronson;Kristin Player)
3 54:57 UNCG Lauren Hein (2) (Jaimey Etten;Jen Rincon)
4 78:35 UNCG Nicole Danford (1) (Lauren Hein;Kristin Player)
Shots: High Point 5, UNC Greensboro 16
Saves: High Point 6 (ABBOTT, Marisa 3; RITCHIE, Andrea 3), UNC Greensboro 1 (Kelsey Kearney 1)
Corner kicks: High Point 2, UNC Greensboro 2
Fouls: High Point 6, UNC Greensboro 9
- UNCG -
