BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater women’s soccer team won on their home field against Guilford by a score of 5-0, amid players chasing milestones and scoring their first collegiate goals. 

The Eagles wasted no time scoring in the third minute, when Bridgewater’s Katherine King found the foot of Garza to make the score 1-0. According to the Bridgewater athletic website the Eagles are 5-1 this season when they score the first goal. 

“It’s a statistic in soccer. The team that scores the first goal has a 70 percent chance of winning,”  Head Coach Mike Van Horn said.

Bridgewater’s second goal came at the 17th minute mark. When Bridgewater forward Lyric Birkley passed to her teammate Anna Belan, who shot from far out to make the score 2-0. 

“I think some of the goals that we set for them, I think they went out and achieved those,” Van Horn said. 

According to the Guilford athletic website, Bridgewater outshot Guilford 28-5. The Eagles put eleven shots on goal while Guilford put one. 

“We gotta figure out how to continue to play at a high level no matter who the opponent is. So just trying to find that consistency at a high level is the remaining goal,” Van Horn said.

Neither team scored another goal until the second half. Bridgewater’s defense didn’t give up a single goal the entire match. 

“The defense did well,” Van Horn said.

The Eagles scored three goals in the second half. Bridgewater midfielder Sarah Farally scored her first collegiate goal in the 70th minute. 

“It was really cool to see Sarah score her first goal. The crowd definitely cheered a little louder,” Bridgewater soccer fan Tyler Dyson said.

Birkley had her twenty-third and twenty-fourth assists of her career in the match. According to the Bridgewater athletic record book, she is two away from tying the school record in assists. 

“You got to respect her in the sense of scoring as well,” Van Horn said.

The Eagles are coming off of a loss to Shenandoah. They lost by a score of 0-2. 

“I think it was a good rebound from our game on Wednesday, where we didn’t show up.” Van Horn said.