DECATUR, Ga.—Three first-half goals powered Maryville College to a 4-1 win over Agnes Scott in USA South soccer play on Sunday afternoon at Gellerstedt Field. The Scotties scored the first goal of the game in the second minute, but Maryville controlled the tempo from there to beat the Scotties handily.
The Scots remain unbeaten in conference play at 3-0, while also improving to 6-4 overall. Agnes Scott drops its third straight match, all conference games, and now sits at 3-6-1 through September.
Agnes Scott surprised the visitors in the game's second minute thanks to the hustle of senior Zoey Perchaluk (Fort Erie, Ont.). Perchaluk pressed high on the central defense and cut off a casual pass across the face of the field. The striker squeezed through the central defenders and passed the ball past the retreating keeper, just inside the right goalpost for the score.
Maryville rarely made a mistake in the defensive third for the remainder, only allowing four more shots for the Scotties over the final 88 minutes.
On the flip side, Agnes Scott was consistently forced to defend a Maryville attack with plenty of scoring options. USA South goal leader Bailey Sipos (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored her 10th of the season with a simple finish to the opposite corner after a cross trickled across the Scottie defense untouched.
Sipos became the distributor just five minutes later in the 17th minute with a perfect corner kick to the middle of the six-yard box. Sophomore Lexie Hill (Rockwood, Tenn.) met the free ball with her head and buried it for the 2-1 lead.
The game remained a one-goal contest until the final two minutes of the first half when a defensive lapse committed by the Scotties gave Maryville another close finish opportunity on a simple cross. Emilie Boone (Gallatin, Tenn.) punched in a low ball from Savannah Lickel (Lothain, Md.) to give Maryville a 3-1 lead at the break.
Maryville added a goal with 1:27 remaining in regulation to pad the lead at 4-1.
The Scots held a 38-5 shot advantage, which led to nine saves for first-year keeper Alyssa Bayus (Phoenix, Ariz.).
Agnes Scott will be off until next Saturday when they continue their conference gauntlet at Piedmont.