By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – The William Carey women were in rare form as they opened Southern States Athletic Conference play with authority.
The defending SSAC regular season and tournament champions put the pedal to the metal from the start and never let up in 7-0 triumph over Blue Mountain College Saturday at Danny Owens Field.
The Lady Crusaders, ranked sixth in the latest NAIA poll, snapped a rare two-game winless streak and improved to 5-2-1 overall; the Toppers dropped to 3-4-1 overall.
Carey scored less than two minutes into the contest and had a 3-0 lead before 20 minutes had elapsed.
“It’s what we talk about before the game; early chances, early goals,” said Lady Crusader head coach Danny Owens. “Keep them coming and don’t let them think they have a chance.”
Junior Maria Azarias and sophomore Mariangela Jimenez teamed up for the first two goals, and Azarias assisted on the third.
“It’s very important, because when you score early you can be very confident in your play the whole game,” said Azarias. “So it was very big for us to get one in early in the game.”
Azarias is a newcomer to the Carey program, coming to Hattiesburg from Brazil, with a two-year stop at Cochise College in Arizona.
“In the beginning, I was very nervous, because the level (of play) is higher than my juco,” said Azarias. “But I’m getting very confident, very comfortable with these players. They’re helping me, so it’s very good.”
Her first goal came at the 1:56 mark of the first half after a quick build-up and a centering pass from Jimenez. The pair made it 2-0 at 12:06 on a similar play. Jimenez also assisted on two second-half goals, giving her four for the game.
“I just did my best and played within the team,” said Jimenez. “I’m trying my best to be helpful, so I’m very happy to get those assists.”
Junior Chloe Strickland gave the Lady Crusaders a 3-0 lead at the 19:27 mark, heading in a corner kick from Azarias.
Azarias already has 6 goals and 8 assists for the season.
“She’s been great,” said Owens. “She’s been a great addition to the team. She’s very creative. The ball’s always on her foot, off her foot. She can score goals and she can set up goals. We’re very excited to have her.”
The way Carey was playing defensively, that was more than enough. Blue Mountain hardly had the ball in the Lady Crusaders’ end of the field, especially in the first half, and forget getting any shots at the goal.
“It was a great game,” said senior defender Natasha Povey. “We played in it pretty much in the front half most of the game. It was fun today, We got to score some goals
Indeed, the Toppers only had two shots all night, neither of which made it on goal, and didn’t get their first shot until 10 minutes into the second half.
“Sometimes it’s hard to focus on these games, when you’re up big,” said Povey. “You try and stay sharp, because sometimes they can catch you out when you aren’t noticing what’s going on.
“But we kept it clean; you’re supposed to keep a clean sheet at the end of the day. I think it’s trying to play every single moment and keeping yourself sharp.”
By contrast, WCU had 47 shots, 18 on goal, with 26 shots in the first half. Jimenez led the way with 8 shots, junior Kauany Souza had 6 shots and sophomore Valeria Barajas had 5 shots off the bench.
Carey didn’t let up in the second half, and it was the bench doing much of the damage after Strickland’s second goal of the game at 59:53 made it 4-0 on an assist by freshman Karen Vilau.
Barajas scored at 66:12 on a pass from sophomore Claudia Mendinhas, then Jimenez assisted sophomore Lauren Jones on two goals late in the game, at 71:41 and 84:19.
The Lady Crusaders’ two previous games, at Foley, Ala., were a 3-2 loss to fifth-ranked Tennessee Southern, the defending national champions, and a 1-1 draw against top-ranked Keiser.
“I thought it was fine,” said Owens. “In the first game, I thought we were comfortable. It’s just two moments where we didn’t make a play and we were unfortunate.
“Against Keiser, obviously they’re the No. 1 team in the country, and I thought there were moments when we were better; there were moments when I thought they were better. I thought we were unfortunate at the end of the game not to win it.
Carey hits the road next week, battling Middle Georgia State on Friday and Dalton State next Sunday.
Photos courtesy of Kevin Rosiere
