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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The list of program firsts continued to grow Sunday afternoon as The Citadel women's soccer team knocked off North Florida 3-2 at Washington Light Infantry Field. It was the first time in program history that the Bulldogs defeated the Ospreys with freshman Mel Mikoy leading the charge with two assists.

Game Information
Score: The Citadel 3, UNF 2
Records: The Citadel (2-0), UNF (0-2)
Series: UNF leads 3-1
Location: WLI Field, Charleston, S.C.

Key Plays

• 9:33 – Mikoy found fellow freshman Kessy Bradshaw in the box with a perfectly-placed set piece. Bradshaw had no problem finishing with a header for her second goal of the season.
• 11:51 – Hollyn Knight tied the game up with her own header off a set piece from Kendra Hoffman.
• 16:19 – Mikoy once again sent a beautiful set piece into the box, this one bouncing over the UNF goal keeper's head, but the ball bounced off the cross bar. Logan Dix made sure she was there to clean up with her second goal of the season.
• 54:26 – Thais Reiss scored off a penalty kick to knot the score back up at 2-all.
• 55:58 – Moments later on the other end of the pitch, Katherine Arroyo followed suit with her second PK of the season with the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner.

How it Happened

• The Bulldogs came in knowing they would have to battle a tough North Florida that fell Friday night at College of Charleston. The 'Dogs made sure to attack early and often, pressuring the Ospreys from the very beginning.
• The Citadel took a 2-1 lead into the locker room at halftime and held a 6-3 advantage in shots.
• The two teams were more evenly matched in the second half with UNF taking five shots while The Citadel had six in the second period.
• All four of The Citadel's corner kicks came in the second half while North Florida took one in each period.
• Arroyo led all players with four shots, two being on frame. Mikoy, Hannah Roth and Bradshaw each had two shots. Both of Roth and Bradshaw's shots were on goal.

Notables

• The win marks the third year in a row that the Bulldogs have won the first two games of the season. It is the first time in program history that the 'Dogs have won the first two games in three consecutive seasons.
• Sunday's win marks the third year in a row that The Citadel has won the home opener in three straight campaigns. Sunday marks the first time the 'Dogs have won the home opener in three consecutive seasons.
• Sunday's game-winning goal by Arroyo was the second of the young season for the redshirt junior.
• Mikoy's two assists are tied for fourth-most assists by a player in a single game.

Quotables
Head coach Ciaran Traquair – "It feels fantastic. We looked back at our performance down at UNF last year and it was a really, really tough game. I look back on that and saw how difficult it was on us physically and we challenged our team to not allow that to happen her at WLI Field. I think our players were absolute Bulldogs the entire game. It ebbed and flowed a little bit here and there with the scoring, but I never really felt like we were going to lose the game because the work rate was just so high."

Freshman defender Mel Mikoy – "I think today was definitely a tougher game against a tougher opponent who had more talent, but we worked harder and that's why we came out with the win. Every time we got a goal, it gave us more momentum, and every time they got a goal, we bounced back and got another one. We just kept playing hard until the end.

Next Up
The Citadel has one more home game at WLI Field before hitting the road for three straight games. The Bulldogs will host Francis Marion on Friday, Aug. 24 at 4 p.m. The game will be carried on ESPN+.

For more information and updates on The Citadel soccer team's season, visit CitadelSports.com and follow @CitadelWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.