Lynchburg, Va. -- On a beautiful afternoon at Shellenberger Field and the Lynchburg Women's Soccer team was able to record their first win for the 2016 season with a 4-0  victory over the Tigers of Sewanee after a spectacular performance from freshman Alyssa Rudy.

Chants of "Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!" could be heard post-game from the area the Women's soccer team was gathered as the as the first year forward headed off to do a post-game interview. Rudy was a catalyst for the Hornets offense as she worked the Tiger defense from sideline to sideline and recorded a goal and an assist while also earning a penalty kick for Lynchburg which resulted in a goal.

The beginning of the game was a mirror image of the Saturday matchup against Johns Hopkins as sophomore Caitlin Mertens was able to work her way into the opposing box just 30 seconds into the game and fire off a shot which again beat the keeper, ricocheted off the right post and rolled back across goal but the opportunity fizzled as it rolled out of play.

The stout Hornet defense turned in another solid game as they did not allow Sewanee to get off a shot for more than 15 minutes in the first half and held the Tigers to only five shots the entire game.

Lynchburg could not find the back of the net in the first half but had their fair share of opportunities. The best came with two minutes left in the first half after sophomore Kennedy Jakubek sent a low ball into the box that only need a touch to be redirected into the net but just missed the boots of two Hornets and went out of the play on the far sideline.

The Hornets came out in the second half with a determination to not end in a tie like the day before. With the whistle still echoing throughout the stadium, senior Camille Bartley played a great ball ahead of Rudy. The freshman took a long touch and fired a low cross into the box where Mertens connected and sent a firecracker of a shot past the goalkeeper to break the scoreless affair just 30 seconds in.

Seven minutes later junior Hannah Olds seemed like she had eyes in the back of her head and as she sent Rudy on a run into the box with a great through ball, which the freshman was able to fire past the goalkeeper into the back netting, putting Lynchburg up by two.

The Voice of the Hornets, joe Hutzler, called Rudy's name again when she was taken down in the box and earned the Hornets a penalty kick. Senior forward Marina Clark stepped up and placed her shot to right of the goalkeeper and increased the Hornets lead to 3-0.

At the 32-minute mark senior midfielder Kelley Smith sent a cross from the left side that was received by Olds who almost added another goal. The forward fired a shot that beat the keeper but once again the Hornets were robbed by a great defensive team save as a Tiger defender cleared the ball off the line.

The half dwindled down and the coaching staff sent in young players to get experiencem but with five minutes left, a bouncing ball found its way into the box and Jakubek saw an opportunity and was determined to not let it out of her grasps. She powered through the defense and finished off the opportunity with a hard-earned goal, putting the game out of reach at 4-0. 

After the horn blew for full time, every player on each roster had seen time on the pitch and for the Hornets an astounding 12 had shots on goal and as a team they tallied 22 total shots.

Senior goalkeeper Tess Frelick was never really tested and recorded a shutout and three saves in the 70 minutes she played. Both reserve goalkeepers for the Hornets, sophomore Delia LoSapio and freshman Caitlin Dorsch, also saw time in the win.

With the win Lynchburg moves to 1-0-1, while Sewanee departs the Hill City with a record of 2-1-0. The Hornets are back in action at the Roanoke College Kickoff next weekend, Sept. 10-11, with matches against Emory and Berry.