No. 22 Trojans Explode for Seven Goals in Victory Over Roosevelt
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UPLAND, Ind. – Senior Nikki Zaino’s first-career hat trick and junior Bailey Zehr’s two goals and two assists powered 22nd-ranked TU to a 7-1 rout of Roosevelt on Friday night at Turner Stadium.
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Taylor dominated for the majority of the first half, building up a 4-0 lead before Roosevelt added a late goal to make it a 4-1 halftime score.
Zehr had a hand in the first three Trojan scores, scoring the first two off assists from Zaino and Savannah Porter and assisting Zaino for the third goal.
Zaino found Zehr with a long through-ball in the 10th minute, and Zehr found the back of the net from 13 yards out for the first Taylor goal. Zehr then scored the second goal in the 15th minute off Porter’s pass. Zehr then returned the favor to Zaino in the 25th minute by setting up Zaino’s header to give the Purple and Gold a 3-0 lead.
Sophomore Hannah Davis added a fourth goal to make it a 4-0 Taylor lead with just under 12 minutes left in the half.
Roosevelt (0-2) cracked the scoreboard with its lone goal of the contest five minutes before halftime, making the 4-1 score at intermission.
The second half was more of the same for the No. 22 Trojans, as the hosts poured in three more goals in the final 45 minutes.
Zehr added a second assist to her stat line in the 54th minute when her cross found senior Megan Kammer, who put it in the net from eight yards out for a 5-1 Trojan lead.
Zaino put the finishes touches on the TU victory with a pair of unassisted goals in the 57th and 60th minutes.
Taylor outshot Roosevelt, 33-6, over the 90 minutes of action and held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks to highlight TU’s dominance in possession.
The Trojans have now scored at least six goals in the first two games of the season for the first time since the 2012 season.
Zaino and Zehr set new career-highs with seven and six points, respectively.
No. 22 Taylor (2-0) returns to the pitch on Saturday at 1:00 pm inside Turner Stadium to take on Campbellsville (5-0) in its next matchup.