Hiram, Ohio- Clinching victory in their first North Coast Athletic Conference match of the season, the Oberlin College women's soccer team took down Hiram 5-0 on Saturday afternoon. Zoe Garver and Heather Benway shined in the matchup, each tallying a pair of goals to lift the Crimson and Gold to 1-0 in NCAC action, and 5-4-1 overall.
Ali Grant secured the shutout for the Yeowomen, recording 90 minutes in cage. The defensive backline of Sofia Mitchell, Tacha Lee, and Samantha Gilfond held the Terriers without a shot on cage throughout the match.
On the attack, Garver and Benway added two more goals to their season tally, aided by Gilfond, who chimed in with a goal and an assist. First-year Averi Williams brings her season points total to five with her first career assist in the matchup.
Oberlin first struck when Garver sent a long ball from the 30yd line into the far corner or the net. Capitalizing off a miscue from a Hiram goal kick, Gilfond connected with Benway inside the box to put Oberlin up 2-0 over the Terriers.
Less than two minutes later, Beway send a ball towards net from well outside the box, but the Hiram keeper came up with the stop. As the ball dribbled off the Hiram's gloves, Garver one-tapped the ball into the back of the net for her second score of the match.
Coming out of the half, the Yeowomen continued to dominate the Terriers, striking again on a takeaway just inside the goal box. Gilfond stepped ahead of her defense to grab the ball and came out on top of a one-on-one against Hiram's goalie.
Running away with the game, the Yeowomen secured one more insurance goal when Maddi New moved the ball upfield to Williams in a quick transition. Williams connected with Benway for her seventh goal of the season, tied for most in the conference.
Oberlin hung on for the 5-0 victory and now look ahead to their next NCAC matchup when they host Ohio Wesleyan for the team's Pride Game on Sunday, October 13 at 1 p.m.
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
