Lady Braves’ soccer opens season with strong win

By Nick Phillips
Asst. Sports Editor

Photo by Jessica Knapton

Braves’ shortstop Courtney Hill takes the field before the team’s game against Armstrong Atlantic University.

The Braves women’s soccer team took the field against Mount Olive College on Aug. 27 in their season opener, armed with a national ranking of 21st.

Freshman goaltender Rea Segoviano recorded a shutout in her first collegiate game, as the Lady Braves took home a 2-0 win at Amon Field on the campus of Mount Olive College.

Segoviano, a Jacksonville, N.C., native, was only pressured with one shot on the match, while the Mount Olive’s end of the pitch saw more action.

Even with a large number of both shots and corner kicks, the Lady Braves were unable to find the net until the 26th minute, when junior Faye Corbett scored past Mount Olive goalkeeper Lyndsey McIntire at the 26:18 mark. Corbett, a, Swedish native, was a 2008 Peach Belt All- Conference selection for the Lady Braves. Freshman Andrea Collen, also a native of Sweden, picked up the assist on Corbett’s goal.

The Lady Braves’ 1-0 lead held up until the 77th minute, when junior Karmi Dagnachew fed sophomore Britney Joiner a pass that allowed the speedy Joiner to pull away for the score at the 76:05 mark.

“It’s always good to start the season off with a win,” said head coach Lars Andersson. “I thought, other than not finishing the goal-scoring opportunities we created tonight, we actually played very well for the first game of the season.”

With the win, the Lady Braves extended their winning streak to six games in season openers, while also improving to 5- 0 all-time against Mount Olive.

The Lady Braves will next take on the St. Andrews Knights in their first home game of the season on Sept. 9.

Last season the women’s team was 10-1 at home en route to their record setting 2008 season in which the team won 19 games.