SALISBURY, N.C. — In an NCAA Regional rematch, the 12th-ranked Catawba College women's soccer team cruised to a 4-0 shutout of I-85 foe Belmont Abbey at Frock Field on Wednesday night.
Bree Ehmer became a multi-time goal scorer with the second dart of her senior campaign, in addition to posting an assist. Cadence Setzer joined Ehmer with a three-point contest on one goal and one assist. Kaitlyn Johnson bagged her second career goal, finding the back of the net in back-to-back outings. Ali Skinner put in her ninth career strike as Emme Mulvena and Ryen Gibbs rounded out the scoresheet with one dime apiece. Lauren Zitt notched her second clean sheet of the year with one save.
Catawba (2-1) fired 15 shots in the contest with six headed toward the twine. Belmont Abbey (2-1) had its chances, but failed to convert on nine attempts with just one shot on frame. The corner kick margin displayed a 3-2 edge for the Crusaders as the foul count had Catawba at six and The Abbey at five with no cards shown.
In the contest's eighth minute, Setzer capitalized on an open seam from the left side of the box by lifting a cross to the middle. Skinner leaped headfirst and sent home the night's first strike, tallying her third career goal on home turf. The Catawba Indians pressed on while the Crusaders began to find footing, despite being limited to off-target shots. Seconds after Johnson sent a delivery careening off the right post, she ripped in a feed from Mulvena to chalk up a 2-0 advantage leading into the break.
Caroline Roche had the visitors' lone shot on goal of the match in the 54th minute, an upper-right offering that Zitt brought in. For Catawba, Setzer was on the hunt for a goal with saved shots in the 54th and 71st minutes. She finally cashed in when Ehmer sent in a cross from the right side to Gibbs at the center of the net, who chipped it to Setzer for the finish. With the last five minutes setting in, Mulvena capped off a downfield jaunt by passing the rock off to Ehmer as the defending National Player of the Year sidestepped two defenders to supply the final blow.
Catawba has shut out two of its first three opponents for the third time in four years, and the fifth time in head coach Nick Brown's 12-season tenure at the helm.
The blue and white open South Atlantic Conference play this weekend with a trip to Newberry on Saturday, Sept. 5. Kickoff at the Smith Road Complex is slated for 2 p.m.
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