Women's soccer opens 2007 with 4-2 win over Presbyterian
Zwikker tallies two goals and an assist; Dolphins rack up four goals in second half

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Aug. 31, 2007

Junior forward Keri Zwikker tallied two goals, including one from a penalty shot, and an assist to lead the JU women's soccer team to a 4-2 victory over Presbyterian College, Friday evening in the 2007 opener at The Ashley Sports Complex.

JU (1-0) trailed early in the contest against PC (0-1) but controlled the second half by tallying all four goals in the second frame.

In the midst of a scoreless first half, Presbyterian struck with less than a minute left in the frame when Ashley Cook cleaned up Stefani Thacker's corner kick in front of the Dolphins' goal.

"We started off a little slower than we wanted to," said JU head coach Chris Kouns. "I give full credit to Brian and the Presbyterian coaching staff because his kids were buzzing in the first half."

The Dolphins didn't waste much time to even the contest in the second frame when Zwikker was brought down in the box by goalkeeper Erin Sinkuler on a breakaway in the 50th minute. Sinkuler received a yellow card for the infraction and Zwikker calmly stepped up and slotted the penalty home.

Freshman forward Emme Graham gave the Dolphins the lead just three minutes later after being led on run by fellow freshmen midfielder Elizabeth Fink. Fink sent the ball up field, where Graham gathered the pass and struck the ball into the net in the 52nd minute.

Zwikker added her second goal in the 60th minute when she hooked up with freshmen midfielder Tamara Cormier. Cormier was impressive throughout and sparked many of the Dolphins attacks.

Freshmen midfielder Sian Senior rounded out the scoring for the Dolphins in the 67th minute after she fired a shot off a clever pass from Zwikker.

"At halftime we challenged the girls to score a goal in the first 10 minutes," Kouns said. "We needed to match their intensity and take chances going forward. Fortunately all three were accomplished and we jumped out to the 4-1 lead."

The Blue Hose got a consolation goal in the 79th minute from Emily Davis.

Freshman goalkeeper Lorna Brownlie made seven saves for the Dolphins, and the defense, composed of freshman Devon Dowell, senior Emilie Howland and junior Katie Orr also had a solid effort in the back for the Dolphins.

"It was a great win for the kids because they answered the challenge," said Kouns. "They showed they could come from behind after making a mental mistake on the goal. Hopefully, we will move forward and put together more than 25 good minutes in a row!"

JU will complete the weekend on Sunday at noon as the Dolphins host Indiana at The Ashley Sports Complex.