Published: September 26, 2007 10:08 pm      

Alderman leads Mountain State’s rout of Pikeville

Think one player doesn’t make a difference?

For the Mountain State University ladies’ soccer team, the addition of Manuela Acosta to the lineup has produced 14 goals and two straight victories by the Cougars.

“One player definitely makes a lot of difference,” MSU coach Kelly Borck said. “It may not just be the skill that she has brought to us but it’s another person to pass to. It gives us an opportunity to work together to bring the ball out. It makes it more simple for them.”

The addition of Acosta freed up freshman Erica Alderman to tee off for five goals Wednesday in the Cougars’ 9-2 win over Pikeville (Ky.) College at Paul Cline Stadium.

Acosta added two goals of her own to Alderman’s scoring onslaught that left the Bears reeling.

“Offensively, when we’re attacking,” Borck said. “Manuela has helped us maintain possession because Erica is the one that shields the ball and gives us the opportunity to push up all together and allows us to attack in numbers.”

Pikeville (2-6-0) struck first though as Kate Forney scored a goal in the fourth minute of play.

The Cougars quickly evened the score, though, with Acosta’s first goal coming in the sixth minute of play.

Mountain State (2-7-0) would catch fire near the midpoint of the first period with Paige Butcher and Alderman scoring back-to-back goals in the 19th and 20th minutes of play.

Forney would attempt to rally the Bears with a quick goal within 30 seconds of Alderman’s but the Cougars buckled down on defense for the rest of the period.

“We had several starters that weren’t here,” Bears coach Kenneth DeCook said. “When Emily Elliott is injured and comes off the field in that first half, there’s no one to feed the ball to Kate Forney. That shut down our offense a great deal.”

Alderman then took control on the offensive side for MSU. The former Woodrow Wilson star fired in three straight goals. The first came from the left side and sank into the right corner of the net in the 29th minute. The second came on a breakaway in the 30th minute of play as Alderman beat Bears’ keeper Tiffany Allen one on one for an easy score. The final score came in the 42 minute as Alderman dribbled in from the left corner and fire a strike past Allen.

Allen was in goal for Pikeville because starting keeper Tiffany Yates was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from the Bears’ last match.

“It certainly made a difference,” DeCook said. “The girl that was in the box is a starting outside midfielder. It made a big difference.”

With a 6-2 advantage, Mountain State’s defense took control in the second period. The Cougars held Pikeville (2-6-0) to no shots on goal in the final 45 minutes of play.

“Our defense has been playing well,” Borck said. “We recently made a change moving Nicole Gardner to the outside back. That’s helped us out tremendously in working the ball out.”

Acosta would earn her second goal just 1:13 into the second period. The Bogota, Columbia native danced around the keeper for an easy open net goal.

Alderman would get her fifth goal in the 10th minute of play in the second before Lindsey Denny capped the scoring for the Cougars with a goal in the 14th minute.

The Cougars took 16 shots on goal and converted nine of them. MSU keeper Christina Baker finished with two saves on four shots on goal.

“We knew we had to be patient,” Borck said. “That’s what we were waiting for. We made it very clear. We talked as a group with the girls about taking advantage of the opportunities we get, because they may be few and far between for us. We have to score when we can and use it wisely.”

MSU plays Ohio Valley University at 3 p.m. Saturday in Vienna.

— E-mail:

rjett@register-herald.com