Schleif Flores career days move Arkansas to 7-2

FAYETTEVILLE – It was a career day for sophomore Kim Schleif and freshman Camille Flores and a record setting one for the University of Arkansas soccer team as the Lady Razorbacks defeated Jacksonville State University, 5-0, at Lady’Back Field on Sunday afternoon.

The win improves the Lady Razorbacks to 7-2-0 on the year and gives Arkansas its seventh shutout of the season. Jacksonville State falls to 2-6-0.

“I think that today’s win proved to us that our defense is been a sound unit throughout the non-conference schedule,” Arkansas head coach Gordon Henderson said. “IT will certainly get much tougher when we get to the conference play. I think that we looked much more comfortable in our system today. It took some time to integrate our freshman into that style of play. In the first half we came out and played like we have been playing on Sunday afternoons and the coaching staff challenged our players to improve in the second half. For the first 20 minutes of the second period we played some of our best soccer of the year with superb pace and quality goals.”

For Schleif, her goal and two assists were a single game career best and the all-Southeastern Conference freshman outside midfielder was credited with her second game winning goal of her career by scoring the game’s first score in the 3rd minute of action. On the play, Schleif ran hard at the back post and took a great feed into the six-yard box from Flores. It took just a deflection from Schleif to put the Lady’Backs on the scoreboard for the first time.

The two squads would go back-and-forth for most of the first half, but Arkansas would go up by two with just two minutes left in the first when freshman Ally Atkins scored her first career goal. On an eerily similar play to Schleif’s goal, Atkins came down the back side of the play and took a feed from Schleif who attacked the Gamecock goal and hit the same type of shot.

The Lady’Backs scored their third goal three minutes into the second half when Flores, perhaps one of the shortest players on the field at 5-3, scored on a header. Lifting herself off the ground like a salmon going to spawn, Flores was able to get her noggin on a cross from Schleif and give Arkansas a commanding lead.

Arkansas’ final two scores came just moments apart at 71:39 and 72:31. The first of the final two tallies was freshman Rachel Carlson’s first career score. Flores came down the right sideline and sent a pass to junior Whitney Allison at the top of the 18. Taking two touches, Allison sent a pass across the turf into the mixer which Carlson one-timed into the goal from eight yards. The final tally came from sophomore Kat Moffett who took a feed from Carlson and hit a similar eight-yard strike.

For the Lady Razorbacks, their fourth consecutive shutout ties the school record which was set during the 1987 season. Arkansas is currently on a school record pace of 418 minutes and counting of keeping its opponents from scoring a goal. The previous record was 361:20 which was set back in 1992.

Goalkeeper Britni Williams picked up her seventh victory of the season and with her 72 minutes of scoreless play and dropped her season goals against average to 0.34, one of the nation’s best.

The Lady Razorbacks open Southeastern Conference play next Friday night when they host the Univ. of Mississippi at Lady’Back Field. For more information about Lady Razorback soccer or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.