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Senior captain Rachel Sinkovitz had her first career multi-goal game
Senior captain Rachel Sinkovitz had her first career multi-goal game
 
Mon, Aug 30, 2010 - [Women's Soccer]
Box Score

Spring Arbor University senior soccer player Rachel Sinkovitz has patiently waited to make her impact for the Lady Cougars.

Playing primarily as a reserve player in her freshman and sophomore seasons, Sinkovitz honed her skills and concentrated on her fitness and was ready to emerge as a leader for SAU last season as a junior.  An injury to her knee in Spring Arbor's first conference game of the season last year cut her imapct and her season short and left her frustrated.
 
Determined, Sinkovitz remained dedicated and on Saturday her patience was rewarded, as she was able to help her team drop NAIA #22 rated Houghton College 3-0 with a pair of second half goals to seal the Cougar's victory.
 
Spring Arbor got off to a good start, and in spite of good offensive pressure, had nothing to show for it at half, as the two teams remained tied at 0-0.
 
It wasn't until the 60th minute that the Cougars found the goal that they were looking for.  Senior Kristin Abbott chased down a long ball played behind the Houghton defense by senior Jessica Clarke.  Leaving her feet, Abbott got to the ball just before it went out the endline and kicked it backwards and upside down in a modified bicycle fashion past a stunned Alexa Thayer who was playing in goal for the Highlanders to put SAU up 1-0.
 
"Abbott's goal was pure hustle," commented SAU head coach Jason Crist.  "We talk about selling out and paying the price to make a difference for the team, and Kristin's play on Saturday was a prime example of that."
 
Just about ten minutes later Sinkovitz would effectively put the game out of reach when she hooked a perfect corner kick in the the top back corner of the net to give SAU a 2-0 cushion, but she wasn't done yet.
 
In the 80th minute Sinkovitz stood over a 35 yard free kick contemplating her options.  After some prodding from the Cougar bench the 5'9 center back put down her head, drew back her leg and fired a long range effort that dove just beneath the crossbar to give Spring Arbor a convincing 3-0 victory.
 
"I am really happy for Rachel," commented Crist through a smile.  "She has worked very hard to become the player she is and to see her get some return on her investment is just awesome."
 
In a tough fought match, SAU held an edge on the stat sheet as well, out-shooting the visiting Highlanders 14-9 and also enjoying a 6-3 bulge in corner kicks on the afternoon.
 
Spring Arbor will now recoup for a few days before travelling to Cedarvill University next weekend for a classic style tournament where they will face off with Indiana Tech and hosts Cedarville.  The Lady Cougars stand at 3-1 on the season with their only loss coming in the form of a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of NAIA #4 ranked Lindsey Wilson College.
 
"We are really banged up and have been playing largely without the services of some of our key players," finished Crist.  "Hopefully we can get healthy this week so that we can establish a rhythm in our play and fall in to a routine."