St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's soccer team opened up the Capital Athletic Conference season on a cool, rainy Saturday afternoon with a 7-1 win over Southern Virginia University.

The Seahawks (3-4, 1-0 CAC) controlled the field early in the game and had their first goal in the second minute of the game. Junior captain Claire Kostelnik (Los Angeles, Calif./Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy) notched a sharp strike from outside of the goalie box to secure the first goal at 1:02.

Senior captain Gillian Sawyer (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) followed with a goal in the third minute after a pass from the left end of the field from senior forward Jess Konecke (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) at 2:15. Sawyer posted a dominate showing in the game, finishing the day with career-highs of four goals and nine points. The 5-7 forward now leads St. Mary's and the conference with 11 goals.

Kostelnik also had a strong display on the scoreboard with two goals while sophomore defender Morgan Rusinko (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) contributed a goal and an assist. Kostelnik scored the fourth goal of the game as well off a corner kick from Sawyer at 10:01. The Seahawks posted a 5-0 halftime advantage behind Sawyer's hat trick and Kostelnik's two scores.

Sawyer added her fourth tally in the second half as she finished off a pass from first-year defender Sam Saunders (Hanover, Md./Meade) at 56:04. The Knights netted their lone goal at 58:41 when sophomore forward Jamilla Gambee (Junction City, Ore./Junction City) dribbled past her defender and effectively got the ball in the net.

The seventh and final goal for the Seahawks was scored by Rusinko in the 89th minute as she capitalized on a deflection off first-year goalkeeper Emily Weymouth.

Southern Virginia (3-6, 0-1 CAC) registered a total of three shots for the game to the Seahawks' 21 while St. Mary's earned three corner kicks to none for the Knights.

The Seahawks will be back in action on Wednesday, September 30 at 4:00 p.m. as they take on The Catholic University of America on the road.

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