ANDERSON, S.C. - Freshman forward Lyssa Engle became the second Trojan this season to score three or more goals for a match, as the attacker netted all four goals on the day to lead Anderson University women's soccer to a 4-1 victory over South Atlantic Conference foe Mars Hill Saturday afternoon at Trojan Stadium.
With the victory, AU improves to 4-3-1 on the year, as it has not faced a setback in three straight contests, while it moves to 2-1-1 in conference play. Mars Hill remains winless on the season, dropping to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in the SAC.
Entering the weekend tied with classmate Maddie Volz for the team-lead in goals, Engle recorded her first collegiate hat trick in the opening 45 minutes of action. With her performance, Engle becomes the second player in the SAC to score four goals in a match after Lenoir-Rhyne's Garcelle Alequine tallied four against Coker last Wednesday.
Jumping out of the gates in a hurry, Engle got the Trojans on the scoreboard in the fourth minute of action when sophomore Jacklyn Kubiak sent a cross to the far-post and found a wide open Engle. From there, the Fairborn, Ohio native hit the back of the net for the match's opening goal.
Mars Hill jumped back into the match a minute later when Rachel Blong sent a corner kick into the Anderson box. Lion Jordan Allen found the ball at her feet and in front of goal and slotted a shot past Anderson goalkeeper Sadie Lancaster for MHU's only goal of the afternoon. For Allen, the goal was her first of the season.
Despite Mars Hill's early equalizer, Engle struck again when Volz stole the ball from a Lion defender and fed a through ball to her fellow forward. Engle fired a shot into the net for her second tally of the match, giving AU an early 2-1 advantage.
Engle continued her scoring spree seconds before the first half came to a close when freshman Abbey Mills found Engle for the final goal of the opening half. With the goal, Engle joined Volz as the only Trojans to score three or more goals in a match since 2010.
After what looked like to be a scoreless second half, sophomore Tera Dolan positioned a pass through the Mars Hill backline and found Engle as her shot found the upper-half of the net for the afternoon's final goal. For Dolan, the point was her first of the season.
For the match, Anderson totaled 15 shots with seven troubling the MHU goalkeeping tandem of Tori Stajduhar and Maslyn Greene. The tandem's counterpart, Lancaster, earned her fourth victory of the year while making five saves between the posts.
"I'm delighted with the conference victory today, even if we are not at our best," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "Lyssa had a major influence on the game and it's great to see her develop as our season progresses. I hope we can take this momentum into next week and continue to set high standards for this program."
Anderson looks to continue its recent success next Saturday when it hosts Tusculum for a conference matchup. Kickoff from Trojan Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
