ROLLA, Mo. – A couple of newcomers made immediate impacts for Missouri S&T's women's soccer team in its season opener Thursday evening, as the Miners rolled to a 4-0 victory over Christian Brothers at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
Adriana Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) assisted on S&T's two first half goals and then scored one herself in the second half, while freshman
Lily Simpson (Lexington, KY/Lafayette) also got on the scoreboard along with
Jenna Marti (Sammamish, WA/Eastside Catholic) and
Grace Young (Sykesville, MD/Liberty) as the Miners opened with a victory for the first time in four seasons.
"I was really pleased with the whole squad tonight," Miner head coach
Matthew Perry said. "We started really well, then our subs came in and had a big impact. I'm always happy when we score goals and also keep a clean sheet.
"We hope to take this into Sunday's game against a very tough Pittsburg State squad," Perry added.
Marti got the Miners on the scoreboard in the eighth minute when she got a pass in front from Benassi and redirected it past CBU goalkeeper Maria Carrico. S&T doubled its lead in the 30
th minute in a similar manner, as
Brooke Bendoff (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) sent a feed to the front of the net, where Benassi heel-tapped the ball to Simpson for her first collegiate goal.
Benassi made it into the goal column in the 58
th minute when she scored off
Ella Kramer's (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) corner kick, then the Miners scored a second goal off a corner kick late in the contest as Bendoff's feed was put into the back of the net by
Grace Young (Sykesville, MD/Liberty).
The four goals scored Thursday were the most by the Miners in a season opener since S&T defeated McKendree 5-1 to open the 1994 season.
The Miners outshot the Buccaneers (0-1) by a 21-5 margin, with only two of CBU's shots reaching Miner goalkeeper
Anastasia Barcom (St. Louis, MO/Rosati-Kain). The Buccaneers' best scoring chance came in the 23
rd minute as Barcom turned away an open shot by Elisa Cruz. S&T also had seven corner kick opportunities to CBU's two.
Missouri S&T will return to action Sunday when it plays at Pittsburg State in a 4 p.m. contest in Pittsburg, Kan.
