ROANOKE, Va. — Averett University women's soccer scored big on the road against Hollins University as the Cougars stormed to an 8-2 victory.
Senior Celia de Diego continued to blaze her way up to the top of Averett's record books, with a goal and 2 assists in the match, de Diego pulled into a tie for first place on the all-time points scoring leaderboard.
Averett (2-6-2, 1-3-0 ODAC) put together a dominant performance against Hollins (3-6-0, 1-3-0 ODAC) as the team found the win column for the first time in conference play.
The Cougars scored early and often with freshman Isabel Semb breaking the ice just under five minutes after the opening kick, with de Diego's first assist delivering the goal scoring opportunity. Just under two minutes later it was de Diego's turn to find the back of the net, as the senior striker pounced on the chance to put Averett up two scores. Semb stepped up once more for the Cougars, capitalizing on yet another assist from de Diego to score an early brace on the day.
Hollins finally found its footing and tallied a goal after the Cougars' early barrage, but Averett did not take long to respond. Sophomore Leah Brethren laced a ball from out wide off of a perfectly weighted pass from sophomore Hailey Juhasz. Juhasz continued to dish out assists to her teammates as junior Lisanne Guiaux was the benefactor of the next one, closing the first half scoring with the Cougars ahead, 5-1.
Guiaux scored a brace of hher own to open the second half, scoring a tap in goal off of a cross from junior Lucia Sanchez to extend the Cougars' advantage back to four after a Hollins score. Freshman Abigail Poole joined the second half scoring alongside her teammate, as she netted a shot from long range after a pass from junior Isobel Evans set her through to wide open space. Evans turned around and scored a goal of her own just moments after, taking a rebound off the Hollins keeper and sending it into the net. Averett played out the final few minutes of the contest looking content to come home healthy and with a six-goal margin of victory.
The Cougars played well wire-to-wire, outshooting Hollins by an unreal margin, 41-8, with 24 of the Cougars' shots threatening the Hollins goal. Averett played two goalkeepers in the 90-minute contest. Sophomore Tiia Chrons started in goal and stopped one shot, while senior Tiffany Hargett played the second half and recorded two saves.
Averett women's soccer is in for a quick turnaround. The Cougars play host to Randolph College for a rescheduled match set to kick off at 7 p.m. Monday.
