HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Crusaders sent themselves within one win of the SSAC Regular Season Championship with a 4-1 win over Dalton State.
 
"I thought we started slow today." Said Head Coach Danny Owens. "We eventually got our goals in the first half. We had a tough game on Thursday and it showed today in the second half especially. I'm proud of the girls that came on and ground out the result."
 
The Crusaders dominated the opening 45 minutes. WCU rarely let Dalton State across the half-way line, maintaining their solid shape and excellent press throughout.
 
Despite Carey's early dominance, it took the Lady Crusaders a while to find their feet in front of goal. Carey created opportunities but couldn't get past Maggie Rickerd in the DSC net. Rickerd twice denied Virginia Mesa and saved an effort from Lesley Vasquez.
 
WCU eventually got the go-ahead goal thanks to some excellent creativity and a well taken finish. Karen Vilau, without looking, produced an excellent back heel that found Alessia Navarro just inside the penalty area. Navarro, took a touch inside onto her favored right foot, and curled her effort past Rickerd to give WCU the goal their dominance had warranted.
 
Carey didn't stop there as they continued to take the game to the Roadrunners.  33 minutes on the clock and Carey had a corner. Karen Vilau & Boo Mills worked a short corner that found Mills on the corner of the box. Mills set herself and fired a shot through a sea of bodies and into the net via a deflection.
 
Carey had all but put the game to bed just before half time as they knocked in their third. Vilau played a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Maddie Davis as she made a well-timed run between two defenders. Davis ran onto the ball and prodded the ball home past the onrushing Rickerd.
 
Dalton State came out with a point to prove in the second half as they took the game to William Carey. DSC pressed high with intensity, aiming to take advantage of any complacency WCU may show.
 
The Roadrunners' bright start to the second half proved fruitful as they pulled a goal back six minutes after the restart.  A Sophie Calkins cross from the right-hand side found Tania Dominguez in the middle of the Carey box who volleyed high into the net.
 
From there, the game became a back & forth affair. Both teams took turns going forward, attempting to break down the other's defense.
 
Carey thought they had added another insurance goal but were denied by an excellent double save from Rickerd. Carey worked an excellent counterattack from defending a corner to Raquel Diaz in on goal. Diaz drove inside the box before firing at Rickerd. Rickerd's save fell straight back to the feet of Diaz who fired the rebound straight back at the recovering Rickerd.
 
Carey eventually put the icing on the cake with 8 minutes left on the clock. Lauren Entremont latched onto the end of Davis's through ball before slotting the ball past Rickerd and putting any hope of a Dalton State comeback to rest.
 
The Lady Crusaders are back in action as they travel to Montgomery, AL. to take on Faulkner University. That game is on Thursday, October 23^rd and scheduled to get underway at 5 PM.