Box Score O'Brien Brace Sparks Second-Half Surge
MARYVILLE – Maryville spotted Asbury a two-goal lead and then stormed back in the second half to post a 4-2 nonconference victory here Friday.
Katie O'Brien scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to ignite the Maryville rally. Sierra Lee then tallied the go-ahead goal and Zoe Van Hook provided the clincher in the 77th minute.
All of this after the Scots allowed two goals midway through the opening period in a three-minute span to fall behind 2-0.
"We came out flat and made a couple of mistakes in the back that were uncharacteristic for us and let them in the game, but our response was fantastic," Maryville head coach Pepe Fernandez said. "Zoe Van Hook was awesome in both halves. She just played really well. Maggie Wilson came off the bench and played well, and Hailey Cartt was very good.
"I was glad to see the freshman keeper, Sydney Mahr, getting the start. They weren't necessarily her fault, but we had a couple of mistakes between her and the defender. But then she came back and shut them out in the second half and made a couple of good saves for us."
Mahr finished with two saves and faced seven shots. Maryville ended the match with a 19-7 shots edge, with 11 of those coming up empty in the opening 45 minutes. The Scots fired six of their eight shots on target during their rejuvenated second half. Maryville's ball possession time was 62 percent to 38 percent for Asbury.
O'Brien's goals were her sixth and seventh of the year, while Lee scored her fourth and Van Hook her very first of the season. Van Hook also assisted on the opening goal and Cartt assisted on goals two and three. Van Hook's goal was unassisted.
The Scots improved to 8-6-2, while Asbury is now 3-9-1.
Maryville's next action is Tuesday night at Berea and then home for LaGrange on Homecoming Saturday afternoon. The Scots (4-2-0) enter this weekend tied for second in the Western Division of USA South with 12 points, trailing first-place Huntingdon (4-1-1) by one point. Piedmont (4-1-0) also owns 12 points, but the Lions have a game in hand on both front-runners. Piedmont and Huntingdon meet Saturday in Montgomery.
"We'll take the weekend off and relax a little bit and then we've got two big ones next week," Fernandez said. "We're hoping to stay somewhere in that top group when the tournament starts."
