CORRECTION: The original version of this article stated that Katie Bisgrove made a save during the first half. The save during the first half was made by Anna Hamner. Elon News Network regrets this error.
The Elon University women’s soccer team defeated South Carolina State 6-0 to win their sixth game of the season, pushing the Phoenix to its seventh straight shutout. After a first half that involved lots of defense, the Phoenix scored five goals in the second half to seal the victory.
South Carolina State’s offense was neutralized by the Phoenix’s defense throughout the game. South Carolina only attempted one shot on goal, which was saved, which was saved by graduate student goalkeeper Anna Hamner. The save marked her 29th of the season.
So far this season, the team has only let up one goal which is the fewest allowed in the Coastal Athletic Association, according to the league.
Head coach Neil Payne said the team takes lots of pride in their defense and team performance.
“We celebrate defending as much as we celebrate goals,” Payne said. “Every single player helps out and it’s not just defending our goal. It’s defending high up the field, and we have the mentality to help our back line out and our goalkeeper.”
However, Elon spent the majority of the first half scoreless. A goal by freshman defender Abby Brinker was wiped away by an offside penalty, but it wouldn’t be long until the Phoenix got its second chance to get on the board.
Six minutes later, junior midfielder Gabby Hoschek scored Elon’s first goal off a tap in at the bottom left corner of the net, the only score of the first half.
During the second half Elon’s offense began to click and break away from South Carolina State. Less than 20 minutes into the half, they scored two goals within six minutes to make it 3-0.
First, sophomore forward Jess Beck led a fast break that concluded with a goal to the bottom right of the net. Then after being awarded a free kick, Hoschek turned in her second goal of the game with a shot to the top corner.
Elon wasn’t finished scoring. They additionally tacked on three more goals over the final 25 minutes. Redshirt junior forward Isa Murdock scored off an assist from sophomore defender Jessica Hill. Murdock would later assist on a goal from junior defender Grace Gelhaus to make the score 5-0. Redshirt junior midfielder Ava Hellner wrapped up the scoring with less than a minute in the game.
Payne said the offense did a much better job making decisions over the course of the second half. He said he believed they were getting more efficient shots compared to the first half.
“We were playing well but we were rushing our final choice too much,” Payne said. “We showed a lot more patience in the second half, and trusted everything a little bit more.”
The victory marks the second straight season in which Elon is unbeaten through the first eight games of the season. At this point last year, Elon was 7-0-1 through eight games.
Payne said a lot of it has to do with the team’s preparation for the season after last year’s defeat in the CAA Semifinals.
“They were disappointed for the season to end last year, so they’ve been waiting to start again,” Payne said. “It’s clear they’ve prepared themselves over the summer before the preseason.”
The victory marks Elon’s second straight win after tying against North Carolina State 0-0 on Sept. 4.
The Phoenix will rest for the next week before traveling to play Hofstra University at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18.
Payne said the team is excited to begin conference play and will continue to play with the same mentality they played with so far.
“The group is in a very good place,” Payne said. “I don’t think they could be in a better place going into conference play.”