RADFORD, VA. – The Radford women's soccer team cruised to its first victory of the season Thursday night in a dominant 4-0 victory over Emory & Henry that featured goals from four different Highlanders.
The Highlanders hosted recently moved-in freshmen and set the tone early for the supportive crowd. The offense commanded the field with 16 shots in the first half. After a relentless attack, it was the graduate captain
Alexeis Kirnos who broke through with a sharp goal in the 29th minute.
Paige Olson notched her first assist of the season, feeding Kirnos who powered a shot past the stout Emory & Henry goalie for the early 1-0 advantage.
In the 42nd minute, Radford would double its lead before the half came to a close. Olson added another assist teaming up with freshman
Eileen Albers as
Ashley Loundermon landed the second goal of her career to make it 2-0 Radford.
With 15 more shots in the second half, the pace didn't slow down.
Lilly Short made her presence felt throughout the match and was finally rewarded in the 57th minute as her sharp shot assisted by
Amy Swain made it 3-0 Radford.
A pair of freshmen would team up with a senior leader for the Highlanders' final goal of the game. Ave Kertage and
Hunter Rosenberg teamed up and found Big South preseason defender of the year
Helena Willson open at the top of the box and she cashed in to make it 4-0 Radford.
Overall on the night 13 Highlanders would record shots. Kirnos, Swain and Short would all record five or more while Willson and Loundermon ripped off three apiece.
Jordan Phillips picked up where she left off in 2022 with another clean sheet tonight making multiple strong moves in the box and earning two saves on both shots faced.
Freshmen Kertgate Rosernberg also recorded shots on the night in their debuts, both on goal.
Caitlyn Nottingham and
Haley Blake also appeared making their Radford debuts with Nottingham notching 66 minutes played.
"We played well tonight, and I was impressed by Emory & Henry's organization and how they defended us," commented head coach
Ben Sohrabi. "Their athleticism was also really strong. It made it tough for us to score, although I feel like we could've finished a bit better on some of our opportunities to score. In the end we got the first game jitters out, started out on a positive note, and are moving on to UVA."
The Highlanders move on to their next contest against the aforementioned Virginia to close out week one on Sunday, August 20th. With a 6 p.m. kickoff on ACC Network Extra, the two squads will meet for the first time since the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
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