DUE WEST, S.C. - With 31 shots and newcomer Marie Yasmine Alidou's hat trick, Anderson University women's soccer earned the school's first point towards retaining the coveted Beville Cup with a 9-0 rout of archrival Erskine Wednesday evening at Huggins Field.
With the victory, the Trojans improve to a perfect 3-0 on the season, sealing the program's best start to a season since the 2010 campaign. The Flying Fleet, who has not scored on the Black and Gold since their 2010 matchup, drop to 0-3 for the year.
Alidou recorded her first hat trick with the Black and Gold as she paced the team with seven shots, all of which troubled Erskine goalkeeper Ashton Burgess. Following the newcomer, NSCAA National Player of the Week, Idoia Agirre and freshman Kenzie Van Heusen posted a pair of goals apiece. Finding the goal column for the first time this season was freshman Megan Foster, who scored her first collegiate goal, and junior Jaclyn Kubiak with a goal each.
"It was another solid team performance that was exciting to watch," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "We controlled the game and set the tempo for 90 minutes. It's great to see so many different players on the scoresheet and have others contributing at different times of the game."
Anderson scored three first-half goals, beginning in the fourth minute of action when Foster and Van Heusen combined for an assist on Alidou's first goal of the contest. Moments later in the eighth minute, Foster handed the visitors a quick 2-0 advantage with Van Heusen adding her second assist of the evening.
In the 24th minute, Erskine committed a foul inside its own box which sent Van Heusen to the penalty spot. From there, the freshman knocked in her second goal from the spot this season and added to AU's lead, pushing the score to 3-0.
After the halftime break, the goals continued for the Trojans, as Agirre scored for the third consecutive match and handed AU a 4-0 lead in the 50th minute. Senior midfielder Emily Cowan claimed the assist, which led her to her second assist of the match when she fed Van Heusen in the 52nd minute, propelling Anderson to a 5-0 lead. For Van Heusen, the goal concluded her six-point evening.
Agirre found the goal column again in the 52nd minute when she found a pass from Alidou. With her second goal of the evening, the Agirre increased her total to eight goals through the first three matches this season.
Alidou followed her assist with back-to-back goals in the 59th minute and the 67th minute, sealing her hat trick. With her three-goal performance for the evening, the Montreal, Canada native joins Agirre with hat tricks on the season. Kubiak closed out AU's scoring against the Fleet when she found a pass from Agirre and sealed the 9-0 victory.
All three Trojan goalkeepers saw action on the evening, as freshman Abby Helm notches her third win of the year, making three saves. Junior Sadie Lancaster and freshman Bianca Porras all contributed to Anderson's second clean sheet of the year.
"The seniors and upperclassmen really show great maturity," Traquair said. "Winning on the road is never easy and I'm proud of the girls for getting a very convincing victory against our rivals."
The Trojans look to continue their winning ways on Saturday when they continue nonconference action against Young Harris. Kick-off from Trojan Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
