ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Behind
Haley Hatcher's first hat trick of the season and
Lauren Llanes' third shutout, the Ouachita Tigers defeated the East Central University Tigers 3-0 on Saturday. Ouachita moves to 4-2 in the Great American Conference with the win.
Ouachita (5-6, 4-2 GAC) dominated the 90-minute match, limiting East Central to only 11 shots and four shots on goal. Ouachita finished the match with 28 shots and 16 on goal. Hatcher led everyone with 11 shots in the match, while totaling seven shots on goal, three more than the entire East Central team.
Hatcher's first goal came in the 40
th minute when the ball was deflected in East Central's box before Hatcher gained possession and put the ball in the back of the net from 12 yards out. Hatcher then had another opportunity less than a minute later on a breakaway, but East Central's Chloe Hull saved Hatcher's shot.
The Tigers took 13 shots in the first half, while holding East Central (3-9, 2-4 GAC) to only six. Llanes stopped both shots on goal from East Central.
In the second half, Ouachita took six shots in the first 15 minutes and kept East Central to only one shot that was not on goal. The Tigers' 10
th shot of the second half was from Hatcher and found the back of the net to put Ouachita ahead 2-0. Aliso Trejo set up the goal with a through pass that gave Hatcher a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper.
Less than 10 minutes later, in the 75
th minute, Hatcher completed the hat trick on a shot from 18 yards out.
Sarah Fish picked up her first assist of the season on the goal.
With a 3-0 lead, the Tigers held East Central to only two shots for the rest of the match, with Llanes saving the lone shot on goal.
Bryson Rial, who played in 65 minutes of the match, followed Hatcher's performance with five shots and three shots on goal.
Ouachita was able to keep East Central scoreless behind excellent play from starting defenders,
Sammie Mack,
Tessa Woodcock,
Dina Harper and
Kristen Schultz, who combined for 282 minutes on the field.
The Tigers are currently ranked third in the GAC and will try to move to 5-2 in conference play on Thursday, Oct. 15 when Ouachita travels to Bethany, Okla. The Tigers will take on Southern Nazarene, who Ouachita defeated 1-0 earlier in the season, at 5 p.m.
