GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG exploded for three second-half goals, including a pair just 49 seconds apart, as the Spartans topped Old Dominion on Sunday, 3-1, to wrap up the nonconference portion of the schedule.
After a scoreless first half, UNCG freshman Kristen Schmidbauer opened the scoring with a blast from 20 yards out at the 58:03 mark. The freshman from Woodbine, Md., scored her first career goal after Old Dominion (2-3-1) failed to fully clear a cross into the box. Schmidbauer collected the ball just outside the top of the box and fired it home to give UNCG (5-1-1) the 1-0 advantage.
The Spartans wasted little time extending their lead, as Cat Barnekow found Lauren Hein with a through ball at the top of the box and Hein slotted the ball into the lower left corner at the 58:52 mark to quickly make it a 2-0 game. The goal was Hein's team-best third of the season and her first game-winner of the year.
ODU cut its deficit in half in the 67th minute. Rachael Carroll lined up for a free kick about 35 yards out, placing a ball perfectly into the box. There, Amber Cook was able to get a head on it, nodding it home for her third goal of the season.
UNCG restored its two-goal lead less than seven minutes later, as Tabitha Padgett sent a cross in from the left side that Jenn Partenheimer corralled near the top of the box and fired home lower right. Partenheimer's second goal of the season came in the 73rd minute.
The Spartans created several scoring opportunities on the day, including a pair of shots that were cleared by ODU defenders on the goal line. In the first half, freshman Morgan Kennedy got a head on Jaimey Etten's corner kick and put it on frame, but a Lady Monarch defender was there to boot it away. In the 73rd minute, Etten had her own shot saved on the line.
Old Dominion had one of its best scoring chances in just the fifth minute, getting a breakaway that looked destined to put UNCG down early. UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney came out to make a play on the ball, but was carded for a hard foul. The Lady Monarchs were awarded a free kick a few yards outside of the 18-yard box, but Carroll's shot went wide.
Kearney picked up the win, making one save and allowing a goal in 76 minutes of work. Junior Alex Perry saw her first action of the season, making a pair of saves in 14 minutes of action.
Brianna Alvarado took the loss for the Lady Monarchs, surrendering all three goals and making four saves in 78 minutes. Laura Bush also saw her first action in the net for ODU, working a scoreless final 12 minutes.
UNCG held a 14-9 advantage in shots on the afternoon, with Schmidbauer and Padgett taking three each to lead the Spartans. Jocelyn Weidner's three shots led Old Dominion.
The 5-1-1 start is UNCG's best since opening the 1997 season 7-1-0 en route to a school-record 19 wins. The Spartans have lost just one game through their first seven for just the fourth time in school history.
With nonconference play in the books, UNCG will open defense of its four straight Southern Conference regular-season titles on Friday at Chattanooga. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Chattanooga, Tenn.
AGATE
UNCG 3, Old Dominion 1
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Old Dominion........ 0 1 - 1
UNCG................ 0 3 - 3
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 58:03 UNCG Kristen Schmidbauer (1) (unassisted)
2. 58:52 UNCG Lauren Hein (3) (Cat Barnekow)
3. 66:27 ODU Cook, Amber (3) (Carroll, Rachael)
4. 72:48 UNCG Jenn Partenheimer (2) (Tabitha Padgett)
Shots: Old Dominion 9, UNCG 14
Saves: Old Dominion 6 (Alvarado, Brianna 4; TEAM 2), UNCG 3 (Kelsey Kearney 1; Alex Perry 2)
Corner kicks: Old Dominion 7, UNCG 6
Fouls: Old Dominion 4, UNCG 6
- UNCG -
