Couite, Lawrence Lead Women’s Soccer to 7-1 Victory at Mitchell

NEW LONDON, N.H.- Kelly Couite (West Bridgwater, Mass.) and Katherine Lawrence (Marlborough, Conn.) both registered hat tricks as the Eastern Nazarene College women's soccer team collected its first win of the season Wednesday afternoon with a 7-1 victory at Mitchell.

The Lions improve to 1-4-0 on the year while the Mariners slide to 0-4-0 overall.

The visitors got on the board early as Lawrence found the back of the net in the sixth minute. Kiara Ketchuck (Taunton, Mass.) slotted a through-ball for Lawrence to poke past the Mitchell goalkeeper for her first goal of the season.

Eastern Nazarene doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute as Couite rifled home her first tally of the fall after the hosts turned the ball over off of a goal kick.

The Lions tacked on their third goal of the opening half in the 36th minute to widen the gap to 3-0. Melodie Hamilton (North Attleboro, Mass.) lofted a pass over the Mariners' backline and Lawrence ran through before booting in her second score of the contest.

The guests fired 16 shots in the first frame while limiting Mitchell to just two attempts.

Eastern Nazarene extended its advantage to 4-0 in the 51st minute. Couite netted her second tally of the match while Ketchuck picked up her second assist.

The Lions stretched their lead to 5-0 as Couite completed the hat trick in the 55th minute. Alexis Schmidt (North Smithfield, R.I.) setup Couite's goal with a through-ball into the box.

The home side got on the board in the 59th minute to cut the deficit to 5-1. Breanna Gagnon knocked in her first goal of the season off of a cross by Jacquelyn White.

Eastern Nazarene responded in the 84th minute on Lawrence's third strike of the afternoon. Libby Nyquist (Barre, Vt.) threaded a pass to Lawrence making a run in behind the Mariner's defense.

The Lions capped off the scoring in the 88th minute with their seventh score of the game. After a quick give-and-go exchange between Nyquist and Schmidt at the top of the penalty area, Nyquist weaved her way in on goal alone and tucked a right-footed shot into the corner of the cage for her first tally of the season.

The visitors finished with a commanding 39-4 advantage in shots on the day.

Anastasia Swift (Morrisville, Vt.) recorded a pair of saves between the pipes for Eastern Nazarene.

"Our team played great in the first five minutes of the game but our focus and intensity decreased as the first half went on. I thought that we played much better in the second half but still had some areas where we need to be better," commented head coach Bob Meals.

Looking ahead, the Lions return to conference play September 17 on the road at Western New England.