COLUMBUS, Miss. - The Spalding University women's soccer team opened St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) play in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon, securing a convincing 6-0 shutout victory over the Mississippi University for Women (MUW) at the Roger Short Soccer Complex in Columbus, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles controlled the tempo from the opening kickoff, outshooting the Owls 32-7 to improve their record to 3-4-1 (1-0-0 SLIAC) while handing MUW its sixth loss of the season.
Spalding established an aggressive attack early in the first half, firing 17 total shots and maintaining constant pressure on the Owls' backline. Senior forward
Karolyn Lighthall set the tone early by rattling a shot off the woodwork, while MUW goalkeeper Cam Lopez was forced into several saves to keep the game level. The Golden Eagles finally broke through in the 43rd minute when
Claira Andrews set up Lighthall, who placed her shot into the back of the net to give Spalding a 1-0 advantage entering the halftime break.
The second half belonged entirely to Spalding as an explosive five-goal surge put the game well out of reach. Just under four minutes into the period, substitute
Kendyhl Dewar doubled the lead off a pass from
Madison Dziedzic. Less than four minutes later, Dziedzic delivered her second assist of the match, finding
Clara Creg in the 53rd minute for Spalding's third goal. Lighthall then capped off a stellar individual performance in the 61st minute, striking unassisted for her second goal of the day to make it 4-0.
Spalding's attack maintained its momentum through the closing stages of the contest. Midfielder
Lejla Salihovic added her name to the scoresheet in the 68th minute with an unassisted goal, then turned playmaker less than nine minutes later by setting up
Arianna Rivera for the final tally in the 77th minute. Defensive goalkeeper
Lily Brennen recorded two saves across 80 scoreless minutes before
Jewel Cockerel closed out the final ten minutes with one save to complete the combined team shutout. The Golden Eagles will look to carry their momentum forward as they continue conference play on the road against Principia College.
