October 18, 2014
Kouzelos' hat trick leads Grove City past Presidents
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Freshman Katherine Kouzelos (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) recorded her first career hat trick to lead the Grove City College women's soccer team to their fifth-straight win with a 3-0 defeat of Washington & Jefferson on Saturday afternoon at College Field.
Freshman Lacy Harkrader (Mineral, Va./Louisa County) posted a pair of assists while senior goalkeeper Kristi Lathrop (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) made five saves in goal to earn her second complete-game shutout of the season and the 11th of her career, moving her into a tie for first place all-time in program history.
After an even battle over the opening 30 minutes, the Wolverines (6-8-1, 5-0 PAC) took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Kouzelos rebounded a saved shot by freshman Megan Van Kirk (Allison Park, Pa./North Allegheny) and finished from the doorstep for her second goal of the season. Van Kirk logged her third assist on the year.
In the 37th minute, Grove City's lead grew to 2-0 in the 37th minute when freshman Elena Guerra played a ball ahead to Harkrader, who crossed the ball along the six-yard line to Kouzelos for another one-timer from the doorstep for her second goal of the match and third of the year. Guerra and Harkrader each notched the first assists of their collegiate careers on the play.
That lead would hold through halftime and all the way into the 86th minute, when Harkrader carried the ball down the left side of the box and crossed it to Kouzelos along the six-yard line for a finish inside the right post to complete the hat trick and close the scoring at 3-0.
The Wolverines held a 26-14 advantage over the Presidents in total shots, including an 12-6 advantage in shots on goal.
With today's result, the Wolverines have now shut out their last five opponents, their longest streak since they blanked six consecutive foes from October 17 to November 3, 2009.
Grove City will try to keep its win and shutout streak alive on Wednesday when they face conference foe Chatham at 7:30 p.m. in a match to be played at Carnegie Mellon.
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