Box
Score
Dover, Del. - Junior
midfielder Sophia Esparza (Silver Spring,
Md./Montgomery Blair) had back-to-back career days as
Esparza registered her second career hat trick and
finished with a career-best seven points in leading the St. Mary's
College of Maryland women's soccer team to a 6-1 road win over
Wesley College in Capital Athletic Conference action Saturday
afternoon.
The Seahawks (6-0-2, 3-0 CAC) remain unbeaten as three goals in
each half helped St. Mary's to its third conference win.
Freshman midfielder Bridget McGovern (Wrentham,
Mass./King Philip) put the Hawks on the board first at 13:57 as
senior forward Lauren Carrier (Crownsville,
Md./Old Mill) sent in a pass that was touched in to
McGovern by Esparza.
However, Wesley (3-5, 1-4 CAC) responded less than seven minutes
later to knot the game at 1-1 as sophomore midfielder Julia
DeFelice (Tinton Falls, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) found the
back of the net.
Eighteen seconds after DeFelice tied up the
match, Esparza picked up her first of the game to
give St. Mary's a lead that SMCM would never relinquish as she
completed a feed from McGovern.
Carrier then put the Hawks up 3-1 at halftime with
her tally at 24:43 after receiving a pass from senior defender
Abby Bishop (Ijamsville, Md./Urbana).
Esparza notched back-to-back goals to start the
second half for a four-goal cushion at 50:38. Senior
midfielder Taylor Cervenka (Damascus,
Md./Damascus) netted the final score of the contest at 67:46.
St. Mary's, who jumped three spots to No. 7 in this week's NSCAA
Middle Atlantic Region poll, outshot the Wolverines, 22-6, and
posted a 5-1 margin in corner kicks.
Sophomore Elizabeth Benge (Bethesda, Md./Walter
Johnson) registered two saves as Benge improved to
2-0 on the season.
Freshman Kim Fearnbach (Pennington,
N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) gave up five goals and made four
saves in 56 minutes before being replaced by freshman
Christine Oliver (Millville,
N.J./Millville). Oliver came up with five
stops and yielded just one goal.
The Seahawks will return to action next Wednesday, October 1 as
St. Mary's travels to Fredericksburg, Va. to take on CAC rival, the
University of Mary Washington, at 4:00.
