Aug. 18, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer shutout Mars Hill, 5-0, in a preseason exhibition game Wednesday afternoon at Schrader Field. Sophomore Keevy Harris and freshman Lauren Atkinson led the Catamounts on offense. Both had seven shots and added a goal a piece to the Catamounts' win over the Lions.

Western's offense came out strong from the start of the first half in which they had 11 shots and controlled possession over the Lions. Atkinson had the first goal of the game 21 minutes into the first half off an assist from junior Natalie Turgeon. On the defensive end, Western Carolina allowed only one shot from Mars Hill in the first half.

The Catamounts continued to control the momentum in the second half with four goals over Mars Hill. Sophomore Stephanie Svoboda found a pass from Harris to add another goal for the Catamounts just four minutes into the second half. Eight minutes later, freshman Heather Dittmer found a pass from Melissa Berry who found the back of the net, followed shortly by Megan Chambers' goal off a pass from Svoboda. Then, with eight minutes remaining, Harris hammered in the final Catamount goal unassisted to help the Cats to a 5-0 victory over Mars Hill.

Sophomore Jennifer Deck saw her Catamount soccer debut in goal after spending last year recovering from a season- ending injury prior to the first match. Deck and sophomore Alesha Row each spent a half in goal to help the Cats in their shutout over the Lions.

"I'm extremely encouraged, especially after only four days of practice," head coach Debbie Hensley said. "The team did an awesome job of executing what we have trained for during preseason. Overall, I'm very excited about the team's potential."

The Catamounts begin their season next Friday, August 27, 2004 against Gardner-Webb at home with match time scheduled to start at 4:00 pm.