Pascutti Paces Pirates Past Saints, 5-0, On Thursday

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Freshman Kristina Pascutti tallied two second-half goals and drew a penalty kick in the first 18 minutes of the second half to help Armstrong Atlantic State notch a 5-0 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting Flagler on Thursday afternoon at AT&T Field in Savannah.

The Pirates (12-3-3, 8-2 PBC) have clinched at least a second place finish in the Peach Belt standings with the win, while Flagler (8-7-1, 4-4-1 PBC) remains in eighth place heading into the final weekend of league play. Flagler meets Columbus State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in St. Augustine and a win or a draw by the Saints will give AASU the PBC regular-season title, while a CSU win will give the Cougars a fourth straight regular season title.

The first half felt little like it would be a blowout as Flagler outshot the Pirates, 5-3, and enjoyed the run of play for much of the period. A throw-in deep in the Saints half was cleared by Flagler to the top of the box, where sophomore Erin O'Rourke slotted a shot past Saint keeper Christie Reuther to put AASU up, 1-0, in the 30th minute. The 1-0 score would hold until intermission.

In the second half, however, a different AASU team took the field as the Pirates found the back of the net four times in the first 18 minutes of action. A Kristin Burton cross found Erin Holt far post, and the sophomore scored in the 50th minute to put the Pirates up, 2-0.

In the 59th minute, Pascutti took over as the freshman was dragged down in the box by Flagler's Eileen New, resulting in a penalty kick. Burton converted for her 24th goal of the season - a new AASU single-season record, as well as her 88th career tally.

Just under a minute later, Pascutti headed a Reuther goal kick to herself and beat Reuther one-on-one for her first goal of the match in the 60th minute. Three minutes later, a shot from the right side by Pascutti short-hopped over Reuther into the goal, for the freshman's second two-goal match this season.

The Pirates finished the match with a slight 9-8 edge in shots, while owning an 8-3 edge in corner kicks. Tracey Mitchell made three saves in 71 minutes of action for the Pirates, while Meghan Mayville played the final 19 minutes without facing a shot. Reuther made two saves for the Saints in net.

AASU will next travel to King (Tenn.) on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. match against the Tornado, wrapping up the regular season slate. The Pirates will host a first-round Peach Belt Conference tournament match on Tuesday, November 3, at 2:00 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.