JU women's soccer rolls past Eastern Kentucky, 3-0
Three score for the Dolphins in final non-conference match

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sept. 18, 2009 The JU women's soccer team exorcised many demons in the second half against Eastern Kentucky on Friday night at the Ashley Sports Complex.

The Dolphins found the net three times in second half during a dominating performance. Junior Liz Fink, sophomore Jessica Hurtado and freshman Eva Leeper all tallied for JU.

"It's great to come back home and have a full-team effort," said head coach Brian Copham. "We played great today and got solid contributions from everyone at every position. EKU is a very strong, well-coached team and we're really happy to come away with a result."

The first half opened with pressure applied by the Dolphins and several shots on goal. Hurtado was very active in early play and created several opportunities for Leeper and Fink.

In the 19th minute, Becca Massip ran a ball down the right side and delivered a pass to Hurtado in the middle of the field. Hurtado made a few moves and found freshman Lisa Hensley making a diagonal run into the box; Leeper was dispossessed amid calls from the JU bench for a penalty.

The rest of the first half resulted in open play and even possession. Both teams created several opportunities but final touches were lacking. The JU defensive line was dominant throughout the half and the game and saw junior Devon Dowell clear some threatening balls out of the box.

In the second half, JU kept pressuring the offensive third and nearly struck first in the 50th minute. Hurtado chipped a useful ball over a defender to find freshman Lisa Hensley in the box. Hensley's shot was denied and Hurtado picked up the rebound but her effort was also saved. Two minutes later, Hurtado swung a shot in from the left side of the box and narrowly missed her first goal of the season.

The Dolphins won a corner in the 55th minute that was delivered into the box by Alex Schulte. Liz Fink found the ball but couldn't get a shot off. The ball fell to Dowell's feet and her shot was nicely taken by keeper Stephanie Lynch in traffic.

In the 67th minute, sophomore Jelena Vrcelj took a ball down the right wing and played a low ball into Fink. Fink took the ball and buried a powerful show into the right side of the goal, past the outstretched arms of Lynch for her first goal of the season. The Colonel's would attempt to counter shortly after as Alex Hess' shot from 25 yards out crashed off the crossbar and bounced dangerously in front of goal, but was cleared away.

The Dolphins added some padding to their lead in the 74th minute when Hurtado scored on a rocket from 35- yards out. Leeper pressured a ball rolling back to Lynch and her clearance was to the middle of the field. Hurtado intercepted the ball and delivered a strike into the upper-right-hand corner.

JU put the game out of reach in the 79th minute when Leeper scored her team leading fourth goal of the season. Leeper took a great leading pass from Hensley and fired a shot low and into the left corner of the goal.

Redshirt-sophomore Reba Stott got the nod in goal for the Dolphins tonight due to an injury suffered by Alexa Rooney. Stott played well all game, recorded three saves and her first career shutout.

The Dolphins will head out on the road to take on USC- Upstate and ETSU to launch their A-Sun campaign next weekend. The game against the Spartans will be at 7 p.m. on Friday.