Thursday, October 09, 2003

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (October 9, 2003) - Sophomore Erin Ashton (New Bern, N.C.) scored two unassisted goals to lead the Buccaneers to their first victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts, 2-1 Thursday evening at Schrader Field. The Bucs improve to 9-2-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the SoCon with the win, while WCU falls to 4-6-2 on the season with the loss (1-3-0). The Cats got on the board first in the match as Jordan Howell scored her second goal of the season in the 18th minute. Casey Davis dished the ball to Howell who chipped the ball past ETSU's Heather Sanden (Manassas, Va.) and sent it into the goal from the far left side of the box. Nearly half a period later, the Bucs answered Western's offensive effort with a goal of their own by Ashton, her sixth of the season. The ETSU goal at 35:00 was unassisted. Just over four minutes had passed before ETSU put the ball in the net again. This time Ashton outran the Catamount defenders, got WCU keeper Tina Weaver to commit, then launched the ball over Weaver's outstretched arms to sneak it in the top of the net. Ashton's second unassisted goal of the game proved to be the game-winner for the Buccaneers. Both teams kept up the offensive intensity throughout the game with Western posting 27 shots and ETSU recording 19, but neither was able to score in the second half as the match ended at 2-1. Sanden had 14 saves for the Bucs, bringing her season total to 75, while the team notched five as well. Weaver had 10 saves on the night, as the team additionally picked up one. The Buccaneers look to extend their winning streak as they travel to face the Chattanooga Mocs next Thursday, October 16th at 6:00 p.m.