BREVARD, N.C. – Freshman forward
Maddy Loranger recorded a first-half hat trick as the Brevard College women's soccer team (5-0-2, 2-0-0 USA South) remained unbeaten with a dominant 4-0 victory over Salem College (1-5-0-2-0 USAS) on Wednesday at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
Loranger, a first-year Tornado from Mebane, North Carolina, scored the first three goals of her collegiate career to help lift Brevard to victory in its USA South home opener.
Catie Barton dished out a pair of assists, while
Brennan Howell scored in the second half and also tallied an assist.
Natalie DeBella and
Sienna Fox were also credited with assists, as the Tornados scored a season-high four goals.
The dominating win extends BC's unbeaten streak in regular season matches to 43, dating back to Oct. 14, 2023. Brevard has remained unbeaten at home since Oct. 18, 2022, a stretch of 34 consecutive matches.
Loranger wasted little time putting the Tornados in front, scoring in the sixth minute off assists from Barton and Fox to mark her first collegiate goal. Just 49 seconds later, Howell set up Loranger for her second goal of the afternoon, extending the lead to 2-0.
The Brevard attack continued to overwhelm the Salem defense throughout the opening half. Loranger completed her hat trick in the 16
th minute when Barton delivered her second assist of the match, giving the Tornados a commanding 3-0 advantage.
BC carried that momentum into the second half and needed just under two minutes after the restart to add another tally. Howell found the back of the net in the 47
th minute off a corner-kick feed from
Natalie DeBella, putting Brevard up by four goals to cap off the scoring.
The Tornados controlled play from start to finish, outshooting the Spirits 53-3 and holding a 19-3 advantage in shots on goal. Brevard also earned all 11 corner kicks in the match.
Howell paced the Tornados with a match-high 11 shots, including six on frame, while Barton added seven shots and two assists. Loranger finished with three goals on four shots on target in just 49 minutes of action.
In goal,
Abby Nunez made two saves over 63-plus minutes to earn the victory before
Kyra Pettibone came on to finish the combined shutout with one save. Salem goalkeeper Kimberly Laredo-Romero kept the score from growing even larger, recording 15 saves for the visitors.
The Tornados are back in action on Saturday at 12 p.m., hosting Methodist in USA South action.
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-BC-
