Box Score by Kevin Buczek
BELMONT, N.C.-Sophomore forward Taylor Parrish scored her fifth goal of the season for Barton College in a 5-1 Conference Carolinas women's soccer loss at Belmont Abbey College on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Seniors Rebecca Mateo and Connie Axiotis both scored two goals as the Abbey evened its record to 6-6 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The Crusaders are the defending regular season champions and are the preseason Conference Carolinas favorites.
Parrish, from Smithfield, N.C., has scored in two straight games and has netted all of her team-high five goals on the road. Parrish leads BC with 12 points on the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Carson Moore (Greenville, N.C.) remains busy between the pipes for the Lady Bulldogs making 13 saves against Belmont Abbey. Moore has averaged 10.1 saves per game in her eighth appearances her rookie season.
The Abbey controlled the game from the start, scoring its first three goals in the opening 13 minutes. Mateo scored the first two goals of the match, the first just 3:46 in as she volleyed home a Kristin Foster corner kick for her third goal of the year. Eight minutes later, Mateo stretched the advantage to 2-0, capping a brilliant passing effort that started with an Alana Ryczek cross into the box for Ananda Gebreyesus, who tapped the ball to her left to an unmarked Mateo, where she one-timed the ball into the net for her third goal in the last two matches.
Two minutes later, Ryczek picked up another assist as her crossing pass found the head of Nicole Voets. Her redirection beat Moore for the goal. 12 minutes later, Axiotis scored the first of her two goals as Voets fed her a long through ball down the left flank, where Axiotis ran it down, beat a defender and was left with a one on one with Moore, and her shot powered underneath Moore's outstretched arms for the goal.
Shortly before halftime Barton got on the board as Parrish ran down a long corner kick and deposited a high arcing shot into the top right corner of the net for the score.
The Abbey's lead stayed a 4-1 until the 61st minute when Axioits struck again, using an Alexa Hale chip pass over the head of Moore, where Axiotis tapped in an easy shot from the six yard box into the open net for the score.
Belmont Abbey outshot Barton 38-7 and held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
The Lady Bulldogs slipped to 2-7 and 2-6 and step out of league play for only their second non-conference match of the year when Barton hosts No. 10 Southeast Region ranked Newberry College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
