Lady Hawks Post Soccer Win

Senior Kelly Renkin scored twice in a 72-second span early in the second half to lead UNC Wilmington to a 3-1 victory over Virginia Commonwealth in Colonial Athletic Association women’s soccer action Sunday at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.

The Seahawks improved to 6-5-1 overall and evened their league mark at 2-2. The Rams, meanwhile, dropped to 6-5-1 and 2-1-1 in CAA action as they saw their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end.

VCU is a good team and they have some special players that can hurt you,” said UNCW head coach Paul Cairney. “Once we figured out how to defend better, we were able to focus on our attack.”

Sophomore Laurel Pastor staked VCU to a 1-0 lead at the 22:22 mark, corralling the ball at the top of the box before beating a lunging Chandler Follett with a shot just inside the left post. The goal was Pastor’s fourth of the season.

Renkin evened the score at 1-all 5:50 into the second half as she raced down the right side and beat Rams senior keeper Kali Van Covern with a shot to the left side.

Renkin struck again at the 53:02 mark as freshman Sydney Rigsbee found the Midlothian, Va., product with a through ball that Renkin placed in nearly an identical spot as her first strike to give UNCW a 2-1 lead. The goal, which proved to be the game-winner, moved Renkin into first place on UNCW’s career game-winning goals chart as Renkin has now scored 13 decisive tallies during her four-year career.

“To score two quick goals at a critical time really gave us the lift we needed,” said Cairney. “This was a great team victory.”

Freshman Kelly Dodd closed out the scoring in the 73rd minute, using a midfield feed from Rigsbee to get behind the Rams’ backline and beat a charging Van Covern with a chip shot from the top of the box.

UNCW benefitted from an 11-6 edge in shots and held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks. Follett made one stop in goal for UNCW while Van Covern was not credited with a save.

Both teams return to action Friday in CAA action. UNCW is at Towson for a 2 p.m. start while VCU hosts Drexel in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
-Courtesy UNCW

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT