DALTON, Ga. ---- Sarah Slingluff posted a hat trick as the Life women's soccer team raced off to a 5-0 victory tonight over Dalton State College tonight, moving the Running Eagles to 3-0 on the season.
 
NOTES
• The win pushes Life to 3-0 on the season, the team's best start in program history.
• Emily Hounsell collected her third win of the season and second shutout, earning two save in the process.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS 
• Slingluff shot incredibly well on the day, achieving a hat trick with three goals on five shots. The three goals one ups Slingluff's previous career high of two in a blowout of Pikeville on November 1, 2019. The hat trick was the third in program history and first since Josie Davis achieved the same feat on September 29, 2018 against Talladega College.
• Hollie Johnston added a goal, finishing the day with one goal on two shots—both shots on goal.
• Alexandra Collighan got a goal through in the final minute, matching Johnston's stat line with a goal on two shots on goal.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
• Throughout the game, Life did a great job of defending and then transitioning those defensive efforts into goals and shots on goal.
• Slingluff's first goal of the game came in the ninth minute as Dalton State's goal keeper lost the ball after moving up the field to collect the ball, Slingluff taking the ball into an empty goal.
• Life nearly missed on a corner kick opportunity to extend the lead to 2-0 with a minute left in the first half, but a Dalton save saw the teams go into the break with the Running Eagles up 1-0.
• Slingluff's second goal on as many shots came in the first three minutes of the second, racing in from the side to get a shot by the goal keeper at the 42:53 mark.
• Dalton State put a ball in the net off a free kick halfway through the second half, but it was taken away due to an offsides, preserving Hounsell's shutout.
• The game was well and truly put out of reach, 3-0, with 22:40 left in the game when Slingluff finished her hat trick on a one-on-one opportunity with Dalton's keeper.
• Johnston and Collighan put icing on the cake with goals in the final five minutes of play against a short-handed group of Road Runners after Dalton earned a red card with nearly 20 minutes left in play.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Like the score would suggest, the Running Eagles enjoyed a massive disparity over Dalton State in both shots (14-4) and shots on goal (10-2).
• The Road Runner's played two keepers during the game, the duo combining for five saves, while Hounsell gathered two.
• In what was a very physical game, Dalton State found themselves earning twice as many fouls as Life (8-4) to go along with three yellow cards and a single red card.
 
UP NEXT
• Life women's soccer comes back home next weekend, facing Faulkner University Saturday, October 24 within the friendly confines of Lupo Family Field at 5 PM.