NEWARK, Del. - - The team knew what was in front of them from the get go.
Win and claim the 2012 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season championship.
And boy, did the Wildcats show up.
A dominating performance from start to finish for the Wilmington University women's soccer team its second CACC regular season championship in three years, as the Wildcats defeated Georgian Court University, 6-0, in front of its home crowd and on senior day on Tuesday afternoon to capture the regular season crown and the number one seed in next week's CACC Tournament.
The Wildcats (10-6-2, 10-1-1 CACC) came out of the gates and scored four goals in the first half goals, led by a pair from sophomore Ashley Kroll, heading into the halftime break leading 4-0.
Georgian Court (10-7-1, 8-4 CACC) lost its second consecutive match to end the regular season, but still locked up a CACC Tournament berth and locked up the No. 4 seed as Holy Family defeated Chestnut Hill today.
In her final regular season game as a Wildcat, senior Brittany Rhodes got the scoring started in the 26th minute. With the ball at midfield, junior Chelsea Grace played a perfect through ball down the middle to Rhodes who went one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Rhodes slotted her seventh goal of the season which turned out to be the game-winner.
Just over five minutes later, Grace responded with a goal of her own from Kroll as she maneuvered in a tight spot in the left corner of the penalty box down on the end line. Kroll worked the ball free off the end line and played it in front of the goal mouth, people the keeper and finding Grace who redirected it into the wide open goal. It was Grace's team leading ninth goal of the season, but neither Grace nor Kroll were done for the afternoon.
Kroll and Grace reversed roles nearly five minutes later, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead 35:08 into the contest. Grace took a corner from the goalie's left side, and lofted it towards the back post. Lions' goalkeeper Casey O'Connor got her fingertips on the ball but not enough as Kroll redirected the corner into the back of the net on the far post.
Kroll continued her strong first half with another goal, this time with under a minute to play in the opening 45 minutes. Using her speed, Kroll raced through the defense as Morgan Fraczkowski one-timed a volley at midfield down the middle of the pitch and Kroll finished it as O'Connor came off her line. The two goals give Kroll six on the season and the Wildcats a 4-0 halftime advantage.
The second half was more evenly balanced on the field between the two teams, but Georgian Court was still unable to solve the Wildcat defense and goalkeeper Amanda Walters. The Lions put three shots on frame in the second half and Walters stopped all three for her fifth shutout of the season.
Grace added to her team lead in goals with her second of the match late in the second half. In the 79th minute, Rhodes and Grace found themselves with a 2-on-1 with the third Lion goalkeeper, Erika Aponte, who came on with 18 minutes remaining. With Aponte far off her line and outside the 18-yard box, Rhodes played it to her left and grace placed it home for her 10th goal of the season.
It is the first time since 2010 a Wildcat scored double-digit goals in a season, last done by Rhodes as a sophomore.
Fraczkowski added to her assist in the first half, scoring the game's final goal with 34 seconds remaining on the scoreboard. Jordanne Hoesli-Atkins played a ball form the right flank to the far post and Fraczkowski rose above everyone at the far post, heading home her sixth goal of the season.
The Wildcats outshot the Lions, 18-8, for the match, including a 12-2 advantage in the first half to set the tone. They also earned three more corners than the visitors, 6-3, for the match.
Wilmington will host a CACC Tournament first round matchup on Monday against the No. 8 seed which will be determined on Thursday. Dominican and Felician are tied in eighth place with 16 points each. Caldwell heads to Dominican on Thursday for the final CACC regular season match.
