It took just 11 minutes for the Pirates to score their first goal of the 2009 season and they continued to build off of it throughout the game as SU sailed to a 3-1 victory in their season opener against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The first half had just barely begun when sophomore Jillian Curran’s (pictured right) through ball was run down by senior A.J. Andreola who out maneuvered the Crusaders’ keeper to score the first goal of the game. The Pirates continued to apply pressure throughout the half, but were unable to connect on any attacks. Senior goal keeper Cheryl Duncan was able to hold the Pirates lead with one save in the half.

Once the second half began SU wasted no time and scored two goals within seconds of each other. Junior Danielle Madison assisted on junior Amy Douglas’ goal with just over one minute gone in the second half. Curran’s heads up play in the opponent’s box lead to her unassisted goal and gave Southwestern a 3-0 lead just minutes into the second half.

The Crusaders got on the board in a similar fashion with a through ball from UMHB’s Erin Salyer that threaded the Pirate defense and found a streaking Mickie Arredondo who narrowly beat the diving keeper, SU’s first-year Sarah Nonaka, to bring the score to 3-1 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Southwestern led in all offensive categories, taking eight more shots (14-6) than the Crusaders and three more corners (4-1). Curran led the way for the Pirates with a three-point performance, scoring one goal on two shots and recording an assist.

The win puts the Pirates at 1-0 to start the season. They will travel to Brownwood, Texas on Saturday to take on fellow South Region opponent Howard Payne University at 2:00 pm.