WINGATE, N.C. - The 2012 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, Jade Montgomery tallied two of No. 22 ranked Wingate's three goals, as the Bulldogs took down Anderson University women's soccer 3-0 in conference action Saturday evening at the WU Soccer Complex.
The conference setback snaps Anderson's three-match winning streak and moves the Trojans' SAC record to an even 3-3-4 with one conference match remaining. Overall, the Trojans fall to 5-7-4 on the year. Wingate (11-2-3, 7-2-1 SAC) continues to battle with Lenoir-Rhyne for the conference lead as the teams are now deadlocked for the top spot in the league with 22 points apiece.
The first 45 minutes of the match went in favor of the Trojans, as AU outshot the nationally-ranked Bulldogs, 6-5, while senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Neipp recorded just one save for the period. Despite the impressive start to the match, Wingate notched the contest's opening goal in the 55th minute when forward Chandler Murphy fired a shot that hit the AU post. After the ball bounced off the goal, it fell to Montgomery's feet who flicked in ball into the net to hand WU the second half lead.
Montgomery would add her second tally in the 87th minute when she headed in a goal from a Taryn Grivois pass. Montgomery continues to lead the SAC in goals scored, adding her 12th and 13th tally of the season. For her impressive three-year career, Montgomery has poured in 47 goals after leading the country in 2012 with 21.
Wingate would eventually add its third and final goal of the night when Montgomery assisted Murphy in the 89th minute. Murphy lobbed a shot over Neipp to clinch the 3-0 win.
For the Trojans, senior Krystal Goss and freshman Tera Dolan paced the offense with four shots apiece. Goss and freshman Helena Moore when the lone members of the AU lineup to trouble Wingate's goalkeeping duo of Carly Rives and Ashlyn Hardie, who played a half apiece. With Wingate's goal in the final half, Rives would eventually earn the victory in goal. Neipp, who totaled four saves for the evening, suffers her first loss since a 2-0 defeat at Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 12.
"Tonight we played like a complacent team," Anderson head coach Samar Azem said. "We pushed numbers forward, but gave up two goals late and we need to capitalize on our chances. We have to change our mentality if we want to be one of the best teams in the league or things won't change for us. We have a week to see where things fall in the conference and have a lot of work to do."
Anderson wraps up its regular season and conference schedule with a key contest with Carson-Newman on Nov. 2. Kickoff from Trojan Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
