GAMBIER, Ohio – Sophomore forward Samantha Hayes recorded her second collegiate hat trick Saturday and served as the catalyst for a Kenyon College offense that exploded for a 5-0 soccer victory against the visiting Allegheny College Gators. The five goals were a season-high for Kenyon, as well as the most allowed by Allegheny this season.

More importantly, the win secured Kenyon a spot in next week's four-team North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Ladies (8-5-3, 4-2-2 NCAC) will enter postseason play as the tournament's No. 3 seed and will travel to The College of Wooster for Wednesday's semifinal game.

Hayes didn't waste any time in setting the tone early. Using an assist from sophomore Kiele Anderson, she booted in the first goal of the game just 3:44 from the start. A little more than ten minutes after that, Hayes struck again. This time, after a couple of failed crosses, Hayes took the ball her herself and fired from the left side of the box at a sharp angle. Her shot was perfectly placed just inside the right post. Then, in the game's 60th minute, Hayes completed the hat trick after taking a pass from Maia Emden and breaking loose in the Gators' box. She was tripped up by the Allegheny goalkeeper, but still managed to score.


The three goals gave Hayes seven for the season, as well as 16 points, a total that ranks tied for the team lead. Hayes previously logged a hat trick in a Kenyon home loss against Dominican University one season ago.

In between Hayes' second and third goals, senior Meredith Rogers notched her first goal of the season, giving Kenyon a 3-0 lead just 1:52 into the second half. One minute after Hayes' third goal, junior Fallon Raviol scored the team's final goal, heading the ball into the net off a crossing pass from classmate Gwyneth Phillips. The goal was Raviol's team-leading eighth of the season and tied her with Hayes for the team lead in points (16).

Kenyon scored its five goals on just 11 shots, while holding the Gators to just two shots for the duration. Junior goalkeeper Jillian Countey had to make only one save to record her sixth shutout of the season and the 18th of her Kenyon career.