Two Goals by Askounis Leads Tartans to 4-0 Win Against Chicago

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - Freshman Maria Askounis (Bloomfield Hills, Mich. / Marian) scored twice and sophomore Cecelia Dieterich (South Paris, Maine / Oxford) put in an early goal to lead the 16th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's soccer team to a 4-0 win against 12th-ranked University of Chicago on Sunday, October 31. The Tartans are now 11-4-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the University Athletic Association (UAA) while the Maroons drop to 12-2-3 and 2-2-2.

Dieterich's goal came in the ninth minute after the Tartans earned a corner kick. Senior Maddy Lui (Basking Ridge, N.J. / Ridge) served the corner kick from the left side to the far corner of the six-yard box where Dieterich beat her defender to it and jumped up for a header she put forward to the left corner for her eighth goal of the season.

The Tartans continued to press forward and had two shots turned away by the Maroon keeper in the 19th and 22nd minutes before Chicago was able to get its first shot attempt that went high in the 24th minute.

Askounis's first goal came next when the Tartans played quickly following a whistle with sophomore Sarah Scoles (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville Central) receiving a pass wide on the right side from sophomore Breana Valentovish (Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley). Scoles played a pass into the box which junior Alex Adams (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) touched to her left for Askounis before a defender stepped in the lane but failed to clear it as her cleat slipped on the ball. Askounis promptly pounced on the opportunity and finished low at the near post for the two-goal advantage.

Minutes later Askounis had a shot go wide and Adams had a one-on-one with the keeper that the keeper saved with a dive.

Graduate student Carolyn Botz (St. Louis, Mo. / MICDS) made her only save of the game in the 37th minute when she punched a shot down the middle over the bar, and the Tartans held the two-goal lead at the half.

Adams was the recipient of a long pass over the defense by Dieterich in the 58th minute as she took a few touches forward and finished to the left side on this one-on-one opportunity. The goal was the 11th of the season for the Tartans's leading scorer.

The Maroons pressed and got off four shots but none Botz had to handle before Askounis finished the scoring in the 88th minute when her shot at the right side of the six-yard box was too much for the Maroon keeper to handle, as she couldn't secure it and it dropped across the line. Adams earned the assist on the play.

The Tartans will close out the regular season at home on Sunday, November 7 against 11th-ranked Case Western Reserve University at 11:00 a.m.