JONESBORO, Ark. (9/30/16) – Kat Padgett notched the first multi goal match of her career as she helped lead the Arkansas State women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Appalachian State Friday afternoon at the A-State Soccer Park.
The A-State (3-5-3, 1-3-1 SBC) senior scored in the ninth minute after receiving the ball near the midfield stripe on a pass from Bailey Reed. The pass caught the Mountaineers (5-6-2, 0-3-2) defense off guard and Padgett was able to out run them and score easily for her first goal of the season.
She scored again in the 22nd minute on a free kick from on a free kick from 25 yards out on a perfectly placed ball into the top left corner.
The Red Wolves all but sealed the game in the 34th minute when Taylor Schneider collected a deflected off a header by Jacqueline Greer and placed it into the net. The sequence was setup on a corner kick by Tayler Carter that was timed by Greer who nearly scored on off the header but had her attempt deflected to Schneider who cleaned up the attempt for the goal.
“That range is really Kat's zone so I knew that had a really good chance and being something positive for us,” A-State head coach Brian Dooley said. “Then to follow it up with the corner kick goal with the perfect timing on the header by Jacqueline Greer and the other players being in the right position at the right times really helped us convert that.”
The offensive output was one of the best of the season for the Red Wolves, who had five of their eight shots land on goal. Bailey Reed earned an assist on the day's first goal after pushing the ball on to Padgett, while Greer and Carter each earned assists on the day's third goal.
“The whole them this week was to get into an offensive attacking mentality,” Dooley said. “The biggest thing is being efficient with your opportunities and we've been preaching all along to not waste shot because 70 percent of goals are scored within 10 yards and we converted some really good chances.”
Kelsey Ponder, who entered the match ranked fourth in the nation in goals, made 11 saves on the afternoon and stood up to a flurry of activity in front of the net in the second half from the Mountaineers.
The shutout was the second of the season for Ponder.
“Our defense in the second half wasn't necessarily pretty all of the time, but it got the job done,” Dooley said. “We gave away some opportunities at times, but Kelsey was able to pick us with some big saves.”
The Red Wolves will take to the road for an in-state matchup with Little Rock Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. You can follow along with the live stats on AStateStats.com.
For the latest on information on the A-State women's soccer team, log onto AStateRedWolves.com or follow the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateSoccer and follow them on Twitter @AStateSoccer.
