The ETSU women’s soccer team rolled to a 4-1 win over UNC Asheville fueled by a two-goal performance by Rachel Van Horn (Thousand Oaks, Cali.) in the season opener Sunday afternoon at Greenwood Field in Asheville, N.C.
“It feels really good to start the season off with a win,” said head coach Heather Henson. “We were working on things coming into the weekend, and we were able to see those things work in the game. As a team, we still need to work on our rhythm, but we have been making some big steps and today is an example of that. I give a lot of credit to UNC Asheville as they fought hard until the end of the match.”
The Bucs outshot the Bulldogs 23-11 in the contest. Senior Megan Masch (Virginia Beach. Va.) recorded five saves on the afternoon.
Van Horn got the Buccaneers on the board in the 18th minute as she buried the cross from Jessica Huntington (New Port News, Va.) into the back of the net.
In the 35th minute, freshman Lindsay Bickel (Hampstead, Md.) extended the ETSU lead to 2-0 as she knocked in the rebound from her own shot. The Bucs took the 2-0 lead into the half out shooting UNCA 9-6 in the first half.
ETSU didn’t waste any time to put the game out of reach in the second half as Van Horn notched her second goal of the game scoring on a breakaway to give the Bucs a 3-0 advantage in the 61st minute.
The Bulldogs cut the ETSU lead to 3-1 in the 82nd minute as Leilani Halkoitis scored from 10 yards out.
Ramey Kerns (Kings Mountain, N.C.) tabbed her first career goal in the 88th minute netting a pass from Genna Petersen (Loveland, Ohio) to make the final 4-1 Buccaneers.
“Defensively we stayed organized and played well,” Henson added. “Rahcel Van Horn really had a good game, and it’s a great way for her to get the year going, while Masch was also big for us making a couple great saves.”
The Bucs are back in action on Aug. 27 as they head to Gardner-Webb for a 7 p.m. matchup.
For more information on the ETSU women’s soccer team, visit www.ETSUBucs.com. Also you can follow daily post on the official ETSU women’s soccer Twitter page at www.twitter.com/ETSUSoccer.

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