WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Redshirt junior forward
Morgan Nanni tallied two goals as UNCW begin the Colonial Athletic Association portion of its schedule with a 3-1 victory over Elon at Rudd Field on Saturday evening.
The win elevated the Seahawks' record to 3-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the CAA while Elon dipped to 1-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the circuit.
Nanni gave the Seahawks a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when she took a pass from freshman
Madison Henry and scored on a shot into the lower right corner of the goal.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Nanni extended the advantage to 2-0 when she converted a penalty kick past Elon freshman goalkeeper
McKenna Dalfonso.
The Phoenix ended the shutout bid in the 63rd minute as junior
Carson Jones scored an unassisted goal past freshman goalkeeper
Blair Barefoot. But, the Seahawks answered less than six minutes later when junior defender
Talia Parrous headed in a pass from senior midfielder
Audrey Harding for her first goal of the season.
Making the first start of her college career, Barefoot tallied three saves in the victory for the Seahawks.
Dalfonso tallied two saves in the loss for Elon.
Game Notes:
- UNCW improved to 13-1-2 all-time against Elon, including a 6-1-1 mark in road contests … The Seahawks also ended a three-game winless streak in the series.
- Nanni registered the third two-goal game of her college career … She also moved into a tie for 13th place with Harding and Joanna Walker (1994-95) on the Seahawks' career scoring list with 13 goals.
- Parrous scored against Elon for the second season in a row … Two of her three career markers have come against the Phoenix.
- Parrous also became the eighth different UNCW player to score a goal this season.
- UNCW scored three or more goals for the seventh time since the start of the 2019 season.
- UNCW improved to 20-3-2 over the last three seasons when scoring first and 18-3-1 when scoring two or more goals.
- Nanni is now 3-for-3 in penalty kick attempts in her career … Her three career penalty kick goals rank fourth in school history.
Up Next: The Seahawks return home on Saturday, Mar. 20, to welcome the College of Charleston to the UNCW Soccer Stadium for a 6 p.m. CAA clash.