Powered by a Lauryn Mateo hat trick, the Blues kept rolling, winning their sixth straight match with a 4-0 drubbing of the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Pride Night at Greenwood Field. Asheville had 31 shot attempts in the match compared to Chattanooga’s 4.
The Blues piled up immense pressure early and finally found the opener in the 13th minute. A Phoebe Hollin corner from the right side found Mateo in the center of the box, who leaped above a Red Wolf defender and thumped a header past Chattanooga keeper Alo Iriarte for an early 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later the Blues almost capitalized off a corner again when Ana Chaves directed her header toward the bottom right corner, forcing a diving save from Iriarte.
Mateo tacked on her second five minutes later with a brilliant turn and finish on the edge of the box to put Asheville up 2-0.
Asheville controlled the rest of the half, forcing turnover after turnover from the Red Wolves inside their own half but Iriarte kept the Blues off the board for the next 25 minutes. However, in the first minute of stoppage time, Sarah Jacobs unleashed a rocket from 30 yards out into the upper corner to give Asheville a 3-0 lead at the break.
The second half carried on much like the first, with Asheville dominating possession and the shot count.
Caitlin Conroy nearly scored her 2nd of the season when she stung the crossbar from 20 yards out in the 52nd minute, the rebound was cleaned up by Mateo for what she thought completed her hat trick but it was called back for offsides.
However, Mateo would not be denied her third when Lu Flores laid the ball off to her inside the box. Mateo took a touch to create space from a Chattanooga defender and blasted her strike above Iriarte’s head and under the crossbar to complete her hat trick and send Asheville fans home happy with a 4-0 win.
Lauryn Mateo was named the Wicked Pie Player of the Match for her efforts on the night, which included 3 goals. Mateo has scored five goals in the Blues’ last two matches and is now atop the scoring leaderboard for the squad.
The Women in Blue return home on Sunday, June 28th for a critical match against Birmingham Legion WFC that could very well decide the South Central Division. Kickoff is at 6:30 PM. The Men in Blue host the Charlotte Eagles at Greenwood Field on Friday, June 26th with kickoff set for 7:00 PM. You can buy your tickets here.
