The Belmont Abbey women's soccer team broke a 1-1 tie by scoring four unanswered goals during a 14 minute span in the second half as the Crusaders improved to 4-0-0 in Conference Carolinas with a 5-1 defeat over the visiting Converse Valkyries this afternoon at Alumni Field. The win, the Abbey's third-straight, improves the overall record to 6-2-1. Converse is now 5-5-0 overall and 2-3-0 in league play.

After Cassidy Coutinho gave the Abbey a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, poking home a rebound off of a saved Tallee Zamiela shot, Converse pulled level eight minutes later as Josie Davis tapped in a rebound off of a Nicole Doolittle shot from the right side.

The two teams were level until the 70th minute when the Abbey's offensive barrage began its run of four goals in 14 minutes, coming on 11 shots.

Kate Hennessy netted her third goal in as many matches as her third effort from the face of goal found the back of the net, after her first two tries were batted away by the goalkeeper and a defender on the line. The marker represents the first game winning goal of her career.

A mere three minutes later, Meghan Philp scored the first of her two goals, as she took a pass from Cierra Skyers and lobbed a shot towards the left corner of the net. Goalkeeper Josee Waitrovich got behind the ball, but the ball went through her hands and trickled into the net to increase the Abbey's lead to 3-1.

1:38 later, Philp scored again as Waitrovich again allowed the ball to elude her grasp. Philp ran down a long pass from Jillian Lang, who skyed the ball forward. Philp gathered at midfield and outraced the Valkyries defense. After the defenders caught up, Philp stopped just shy of the box, about 22 yards away, and flicked an innocuous shot towards the center of the goal, right to Waitrovich, who was there to make the easy save, but the ball once again went right through her hands and over the line before she could race back in time. 

The goal is Philp's eighth of the year and it is her third match with at least two goals.

Skyers ended the scoring in the 84th minute as Philp shot her a pass to the center of the box. Skyers, with two defenders on her, boxed out both, turned and fired a right footed blast past new goalkeeper Savannah Humphries for her eighth goal of the season, and her fourth in the last three matches.

Belmont Abbey, which has outscored its four conference opponents 19-1, outshot Converse 20-7 and attempted all six corner kicks in the match.

Megan Bowen made two saves in the first half, with Kaelyn O'Hop stopping one easy shot in the second half.

Belmont Abbey is back in action Wednesday night at 5:00 with a road contest at Lees-McRae.