Hat trick beats Southern Miss
The team celebrates freshman Maggie Mace after her assist in the second half.
The women’s soccer team earned a meaningful 4-1 win on teachers’ night as a freshman player scored her first career hat trick against the University of Southern Mississippi.
It was a special night as the players invited their favorite professors to be honorary coaches for the game and sat on the sideline with the team.
Coastal held the bulk of the possession for most of the first half, but neither team was able to score. It was a 0-0 deadlock going into the intermission. The second half was the complete opposite with a lot of action and a total of five goals being scored.
In the fiftieth minute, Southern Miss was given a penalty kick due to a handball called in Coastal’s box. Sophomore goalkeeper Hope Morrow was unfazed and stood her ground to save the penalty. Morrow finished the game with a career- high of seven saves.
Seven minutes later, freshman defender Julia Ziegenfuss opened the flood gates as she tapped in for a goal from junior defender Rocio Fernandez’s corner kick. The second goal of the night came from forward Megan Brouse in the seventy- fifth minute as she finished a long through ball from midfielder Maggie Mace. Brouse now has 20 career goals to her name including eight from this season.
In the eighty-first minute, Brouse found an opening in the defense and passed it to Ziegenfuss, who dribbled past the last defender and slotted it home for her second of the night.
Just under two minutes later, Brouse had her shot on the counterattack saved by Southern Miss’ goalkeeper. Ziegenfuss was there to tap in the rebound for her third goal of the game and the Chanticleer’s fourth.
Southern Miss was able to get a consolation goal as the team’s Ilana Izquierdo lofted a cross into the box that went into the left side of the net.
The Chanticleers are 2-8-3 for the season thus far and take on Georgia Southern University next on Oct. 16.