Asheville City’s Women used a dominant team performance to crush Swarm FC 5-1 in Georgia for their 5th straight win.
The Blues got things started in the 11th minute, courtesy of Hedda Ornberg. A beautiful ball from the right flank via Naroa Domenech found Ornberg in the center of the box who chested it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead.
The Blues nearly tacked on another in the 27th minute, when Sarah Gorham’s through ball from the center circle found Kelly Gordon in behind, but she dragged her shot just wide.
However, three minutes later the Blues struck again. Gordon cut into the box from the left wing and was taken down by a Swarm defender, earning a penalty. Phoebe Hollin stepped up to the spot and nailed it in the upper right corner to double the Blues’ lead.
Swarm FC halved the Asheville deficit just a minute before the break when they earned a penalty of their own. Reagan Thompson stepped up and converted the penalty to cut the lead to 2-1.
After a back-and-forth first 20 minutes of the second half, Lauryn Mateo opened her Asheville City account to restore the Blues’ two-goal cushion. Gordon shuttled the ball down the right flank to the endline before cutting inside and sliding it across to Mateo who punched it home for a 3-1 Asheville lead.
Nine minutes later, Maya Leoni decided that Lu Flores’ strike from Saturday needed some competition for goal of the year when she sent an absolute rocket on net from far out that dipped under the crossbar to put the Blues up 4-1.
The Swarm nearly clawed one back in the 87th minute, but a leaping punch on a shot from the left side of the six-yard box by Gaby Rourke preserved the three-goal lead.
The final nail in the coffin came in the 93rd minute, when Mateo stuck with the ball after Graycen Ehlen’s initial save and slammed the ball home for her second of the night, giving Asheville a 5-1 win.
Sarah Gorham was named the Wicked Pie Player of the Match for her efforts on the night, which included an assist.
The Women in Blue return home on Saturday, June 20th when they take on the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Pride Night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM. You can buy your tickets here.
