University of Mount Olive fell on senior day 1-0 to Limestone College in conference Carolinas women's soccer Saturday afternoon at Amon Field in Mount Olive, N.C. It was senior day for Damilia Brooks and Lauren Prott as an interesting play of sportsmanship occurred on Amon Field.
After a special pre-game ceremony was held for the two seniors, a special moment appeared on the pitch for Damilia Brooks who started the match under a special set of circumstances. Brooks was injured earlier in the season and suffered a season-ending injury that concluded her playing time at Mount Olive. Brooks on crutches was on the field for the opening whistle at midfield and the ball was kicked out of bounds and substituted off where she was met by cheers from the crowd and hugs from her teammates.
Mount Olive (5-10-1 Overall, 3-5-1 Conference Carolinas) used the emotional moment as fuel to begin the game as a quick corner kick three minutes into the match was met with a header by Prott that missed just high. The Trojans looked for another attack in the fourth minute off another corner but a great save by the Limestone (9-2-3, 7-1-2) keeper kept Mount Olive off the board.
Mount Olive had again played good offense to force two scoring opportunities; however the Trojan corners in the 23rd minutes were played well by the Saint defense.
Limestone fought for its scoring chance later in the period in the 32nd minute. A shot from just outside the box stretched Stephanie McCoy as far as she could reach to her left to save the ball from sneaking in the far post. The ball then hit the ground and before any Trojan defenders had a chance to clear the ball out Samantha Berberette found Gabriella Reid for the chip shot goal and the Saints took the lead.
The Trojans fought to reach the back of the net taking 10 of their 19 shots in the second period. A last second chance scoring opportunity for Mount Olive was blocked with just :24 left in the game and the Trojans were unable to Mount another attack as they fell 1-0 to Limestone.
Mount Olive closes out its home regular season against arch rival Barton College Tuesday Oct. 25 at Amon Field. Match time is set for 7 p.m.