The Hurricanes bounced back from Friday night’s tough loss with a convincing 7-0 victory over the Jacksonville University Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.
The scoring started early when redshirt senior defender Shannon McCarthy drove a cross that was buried by junior forward Ronnie Johnson in the 13th minute.
“I was just looking to get away from my mark because they were playing really tight,” Johnson said after the game. “Shannon’s cross was perfect.”
Despite dominating the first half and outshooting the Dolphins (1-3-0) 14-4, the Canes (3-1-0) went into the second half with only a 1-0 lead.
Five minutes into the second period, breakout freshman forward Kristina Fisher doubled the lead on a penalty kick after she was tripped up in the opposing box. Johnson added another goal two minutes later, sidestepping a defender and striking just under the crossbar. Fisher then tallied a second score of her own, unassisted in the 65th minute.
Due to her early dominance, Fisher was asked if the team’s game plan now is to simply pass the ball to her and let her shoot. The team-leading scorer laughed.
“Somewhat,” she said. “We’re just trying to get the ball to teammates because we’re all capable of scoring.”
Senior forward Gracie Lachowecki scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart to cement Miami’s victory. A seventh goal was notched thanks to a header made by freshman midfielder Lauren Markwith in the dying minutes of the contest.
“It was better in the second half,” Johnson said of the team’s offensive dominance.
The Hurricanes will look to continue that dominance Friday night against the Miami (OH) Redhawks at 7 p.m. at Cobb Stadium.