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Arendt Paces Bobcats past Crusaders, 5-1

Sept. 15, 2012. TIGERVILLE, S.C. — Sam Arendt (Franklinton, N.C.) tallied her first career hat trick and Ally Titsworth (Holmes Beach, Fla.) added three assists to lead the Lees-McRae College women’s soccer team to a 5-1 win over North Greenville University in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday afternoon.

Lees-McRae (3-2-1, 2-0 CC) outshot North Greenville (0-4, 0-1 CC) by a 23-7 margin, including a 12-3 advantage in the first half, as the Bobcats controlled the pace of play for the majority of the match. The Bobcats held a 6-3 edge on attempts from the corner, as six different players wrote their names onto the score sheet.

Arendt stole the show for Lees-McRae, firing three goals for her first collegiate treble in just 34 minutes of action. The sophomore forward scored twice in a two-minute span early in the first half, before capping the day’s scoring just over 10 minutes from time. Senior Mary Dorn (Shallotte, N.C.) and freshman Erica Allen (Norton, Ohio) each added a goal for the Bobcats, while Titsworth chipped in three assists.

Kaitlyn Kerrigan (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) and Molly Ames (Greensboro, N.C.) each posted an assist in the match, as Kerrigan moved into a tie for eighth in program history with her 24th career helper. Kaitlyn Briggs (Oviedo, Fla.) tallied two saves en route to the victory, moving into ninth on the program’s all-time list with her 14th career win.

Caroline Baker tallied the lone strike for North Greenville, as Alli Mims added an assist and Taylor Kelley recorded seven saves between the pipes.

The match remained scoreless until the early moments of the 31st minute, when Dorn nodded home a corner by Kerrigan to break the deadlock and give the Bobcats an early 1-0 lead. Allen doubled the advantage to 2-0 midway through the 42nd minute, volleying a cross from Ames into the back of the net for her second goal of the season to send the Bobcats into the interval with a 2-0 advantage.

Arendt tallied the first of her three goals less than a minute into the second half, slotting home a cross from Titsworth to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead at the 45:42 mark. The sophomore doubled her daily total less than two minutes later, unleashing a driven strike into the upper 90 from 20 yards distance off a feed from Titsworth.

The Bobcats kept the Crusaders off the score sheet until the early moments of the 73rd minute, when Baker found the back off the net following an assist from Mims to trim the margin to 4-1.  Arendt would answer seven minutes later, completing her treble 10 minutes from time off a Titsworth cross to equal the final margin of 5-1.

“It was another great effort from the ladies today,” said Bobcat head coach Nick Whiting. “I’m disappointed to lose the shutout, but overall it was a very successful day. We were all very excited for [Sam] Arendt, claiming her first career hat trick. Now we get back to work for a tough game on Monday.”

Lees-McRae returns to the pitch on Monday when the Bobcats travel to Greeneville, Tenn. to take on Tusculum College in non-conference action at 7 p.m.