CENTRAL, S.C. - After scoring a pair of goals in her debut on Thursday, newcomer Idoia Agirre tallied four goals to propel Anderson University women's soccer to a 7-1 rout of in-state rival Southern Wesleyan on Saturday evening at Childs Field.
With the victory, the Trojans begin the 2015 season with a 2-0 record, matching last season's opening mark. The Warriors, who opened their season on Saturday, fall to 0-1.
The Black and Gold held the ball in their attacking zone for the majority of the contest, out-shooting the opposition, 33-5, headlined by a 21-2 mark after the first 45 minutes. A total of 12 different players for AU fired shots on the evening, as Agirre led the team with seven total shots, with all of them troubling SWU goalkeeper Courtney McNeil. Senior Emily Cowan and newcomer Marie Yasmine Alidou followed with six shots apiece.
"It was a slow start, but once the goals started flowing, there was no looking back," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "The experienced players showed great leadership and the performance allowed us to get the whole squad involved. In addition, it was another standout performance from Idoia tonight."
Agirre becomes the first Trojan since Lyssa Engle a season ago to record four goals in a match, as she increased her season total to six after just two matches. After a convincing 4-0 victory over Shorter on Thursday, Anderson has outscored its opponents, 11-1; with Agirre totaling more than half of the team's scoring output.
Agirre opened the evening's scoring in the 27th minute when she was fed a pass from Cowan and the forward push a shot past McNeil. For Cowan, the assist was her first of the season after tying for the team lead in assists a year ago.
Moments before the first-half horn, sophomore Abbey Mills found the scoresheet for the first time in her career after receiving a pass from Agirre. The goal would take the match into the halftime break with the Trojans clinging to a 2-0 advantage.
Agirre continued the scoring streak when she added back-to-back goals just six seconds apart in the 48th minute to increase AU's lead to 4-0. On her second goal of the evening, Agirre found some help from teammate Ali Palacios, who recorded her first point of her career with the assist.
After Southern Wesleyan's Beth Spence put the home side on the scoreboard with a 61st minute goal, Anderson bounced back when freshman Kenzie Van Heusen nabbed her third goal of the year after grabbing a pass from junior Alaina Gay. For Gay, the assist was her second in as many matches.
Agirre added her fourth goal of the evening in the 70th minute to push the score to 6-1, while Van Heusen knocked in her second goal in the 80th minute to close Anderson's scoring. Cowan tallied her second assist of the evening on Agirre's final goal, as she is currently tied with Gay for the team lead with two assists. Van Heusen added her fourth goal of the season, as she has scored two goals in AU's first two matches of the year.
Between AU's posts, freshman Abby Helm collected her second win on the young season, as she finished the evening with two saves while seeing five total shots. On the opposite end, SWU's McNeil corralled 11 saves on Anderson's 18 shots on goal.
Anderson looks to continue its winning ways on Wednesday when it hits to road to Erskine in search of a Beville Cup point. Kick-off from Due West, S.C. is scheduled for 5 p.m.
