SEWANEE, Tenn. (CentreAthletics.com) – Senior forward Julie Gates (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore forward Hayley Barker (Louisville, Ky.) each scored a goal and junior goalkeeper Kirby Roberts (Louisville, Ky.) notched her first shutout of the season in Centre's 2-0 Southern Athletic Association victory at Sewanee on Saturday.

The first place Colonels improved to 8-4 overall and 6-0 in SAA play with the win, while the Tigers dropped to 9-4 and 3-3, respectively.

Centre has now won three consecutive contests and eight of its last nine games, with the Colonels' lone loss coming to Division II Bellarmine.

Gates gave Centre a 1-0 lead with a goal at the 28:17 mark of the first half on the assist by junior defender Kathryn Hardesty (Louisville, Ky.). The score marked Gates' league-leading 12th goal of the season. The senior has scored a goal in seven of the Colonels' last eight games.

Barker extended the Centre lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal in the 54th minute. She now has six goals this year, good for seventh in the SAA.

Roberts made a save on Sewanee's only shot on goal in the game. The Centre goalkeeper paces the SAA with a 0.61 goals against average and has allowed a conference-low four goals on the season. Saturday marked her first shutout of the season and the Colonels' fourth shutout overall on the year.

Centre outshot the Tigers 12-4 in the win, including a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Colonels also held a 5-1 advantage in penalty corners on the day.

Centre will look to avenge its last loss in a non-conference contest at Bellarmine on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Game time in Louisville is slated for 7 p.m.  

Photo by Pam Kalbfleisch