METAIRIE, La. - The Gold Nuggets earned their way into the SSAC tournament semifinals with authority, running away with a 5-0 win over Dalton State Friday afternoon at Lefreniere Park.
Xavier (12-4-2), the 4-seed in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, scored four goals in the first half and one in the second while limiting the fifth-seeded Roadrunners (9-5-5) to just 3 shots on goal.
Julia Gurgel scored her first two goals of the match, the earlier coming in the 13th minute with an assist from
Eduarda Queiroz and the latter in the 23rd minute with an assist from
Anita Roese.
The brace was Gurgel's eighth multiple-goal match of the year and represented her 34th and 35th goals of the season.
Alba Mendez delivered a goal in the 35th minute with an assist by
Maureen Owusu, Paize in the 43rd minute with an assist from Rikke Vestergaard Hanse, and Roese capped the scoring in the 89th minute with an assist from Gurgel. Roese now has 21 goals this season.
Goalkeeper
Aylin Yildirim (W, 6-2-0) made two saves en route to the clean sheet, the 9th shutout completed by a XULA keeper this season.
The Gold Rush will now move on to the SSAC Tournament Championship site, the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex in Montgomery, Alabama, where they will face top-seeded William Carey, which is also ranked No. 10 in the NAIA. That match will take place Thursday, Nov. 5, with an 11 a.m. start.
