WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Junior Audrey Harding scored two goals and added two assists as UNCW surged past Middle Tennessee to earn a 5-1 victory over the Blue Raiders at the Battle by the Beach at UNCW Soccer Stadium on Friday evening.
 
The win snapped the Seahawks' brief two-game losing streak while upping their record to 4-2-0. Middle Tennessee, meanwhile, lost its fourth straight game and dropped to 3-4-0.
 
UNCW erupted for three goals in the first half to take control of the game. Freshman Jordan Faveri gave the Seahawks a 1-0 advantage in the 10th minute when she scored the first goal of her college career off assists from Harding and freshman Emily Moxley.
 
Harding netted her first goal of the evening in the 27th minute when she knocked in a rebound of a shot by junior Tara Pak before redshirt junior Grace Hersey extended the advantage to 3-0 with 4:59 remaining in the period with her first goal of the season off assists from junior Grace Bondurant and freshman Sam Francis.
 
With 16:56 remaining, Moxley added to the Seahawks' lead when she took a pass from Harding and scored her third goal of the season.
 
Middle Tennessee ended the Seahawks' shutout bid just 23 seconds later with an own goal, but Harding answered in the 83rd minute with an unassisted marker to complete the scoring.
 
Junior goalkeeper Sydney Schneider made a season-high seven saves in the victory for the Seahawks, who outshot the Blue Raiders by a slim 11-10 margin.
 
Game Notes:

• Friday's game marked the first-ever meeting between the Seahawks and the Blue Raiders.
• The Seahawks scored five goals in a game for the first time since Aug. 21, 2016, when they erupted for seven goals in a victory at South Carolina State.
• In addition, the five goals are the most scored by the Seahawks at home since an eight-goal outburst against Towson on Oct. 18, 2015.
• The Seahawks have now outscored their opponents by a combined 8-2 margin in their two home games this season.
• Harding recorded her second career brace in Friday's victory. She also had two goals in the Seahawks' victory over Coastal Carolina on Aug. 29.
• Schneider reached 100 saves for her college career, becoming the 10th goalkeeper in program history to reach the mark.
• Francis recorded the first point of her college career with her assist in the second half.
• A total of 25 players saw action for the Seahawks in the victory over Middle Tennessee.

Up Next: The Seahawks host No. 16 Virginia Tech in the final game of the Battle by the Beach on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 1:30 p.m. Virginia Tech defeated Charleston, 1-0, in the first game of the tournament earlier on Friday.

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