Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Junior goalkeeper Carson Moore made seven saves and got plenty of offensive support in leading host Barton College to a 3-0 NCAA Division II Southeast Region women's soccer victory over visiting Young Harris College on Sunday afternoon at the Barton Outdoor Athletic Complex.
The Lady Bulldogs (2-2 Overall) have recorded two consecutive clean sheets while the shutout marked the first time the Mountain Lions (2-2) have been blanked in 2013.
"We realized we had to shore up our defense a bit after Florida and made a couple changes personnel wise," said Barton first year head coach Chris Shaw when questioned about his team's defensive efforts. "We have kept working on our defense in training to make sure everybody has a better understanding of what their roles and responsibilities are fitting into our system."
Senior forward Taylor Parrish provided much of the Lady Bulldogs offensive punch with a pair of first-half tallies as Barton knocked off its second straight Southeast Region foe from the Peach Belt Conference. The Lady Bulldogs disposed of USC Aiken, 2-0, on Friday evening.
In discussing his teams two home shutouts in the past three days against PBC institutions, Coach Shaw stated, "We are happy with getting two wins at home. Keeping the ball out of the back of our net was huge. It is something we talked about… to take some pride in not letting other teams score regardless if the score is 1-0 or 3-0. I didn't know what to expect from Young Harris [former junior college in transition to NCAA Division II] because they were not around when I was first coached in Division II [2003-2007 at Mount Olive] but any time you beat a Peach Belt it is a great result."
Parrish put the Royal Blue and White on the board midway through the first half. She received the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, beat a Young Harris defender to the left and then had plenty of time to dribble the ball to the doorstep before sneaking a low shot under sophomore goalie Taylor Erickson in the 23rd minute.
Barton held a commanding 20-12 shot advantage but Erickson kept the score respectable with 10 saves on 14 Bulldog shots on goal (defender Liza Carpenter stopped another BC sot while standing on the goal line). Erickson made a nice stop on a sophomore Jodi Barber shot in the 36th minute but Parrish followed aggressively and was able to tap-in the rebound.
Barber, who took a game-high seven shot including five on frame, was credited with her first assist at Barton on Parrish's second goal. Parrish is tied for the Lady Bulldogs' team-lead in goals scored with sophomore Emily Futral. Parrish has led Barton in goals scored each of the last two seasons.
The Bulldogs led 2-nil at halftime with Moore making four of her seven saves in the first half. Moore preserved the shutout bid in the 37th minute with a spectacular save on a breakaway attempt by the Mountain Lions top goal scorer Candace Edwards, who has 42 career goals at YHC.
Both squads had several unsuccessful scoring changes in the second half before freshman Kathryn Smith registered her first collegiate goal in the 87th minute. Smith looked to be making a low crossing pass from the right end line when a Young Harris defender tried to clear the ball but instead had it bounce off her and into goal. The Young Harris player never had control of the ball and the momentum of the service pass helped the ball cross the goal line so Smith was credited with the marker instead of being considered an own goal by the visitors.
Barton will attempt to pick up its first road win at Salem College (Winston-Salem, N.C.) on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
