CHARLESTON, S.C. – Three first-half goals, including a stunning solo effort from Leah Deutsch, gave the College of Charleston women's soccer team a 3-0 victory over Florida International on Sunday afternoon to close out the Charleston Classic.

Charleston started the game firmly in control with five shots inside the opening exchanges through a combination of Laura Ortega, Maddy Brill-Edwards and Ana Lesmes.

But it wouldn't take long for the Cougars to find the back of the net. In the 11^th minute Meredith Tunney played Brill-Edwards in down the right wing with her high cross falling to Alyssa Beck two yards out. Beck made no mistake to claim her third goal of the season.

Charleston continued to dominate and doubled their lead in the 21^st minute. Beck found space on the left wing with her cross expertly taken down in the box by Ortega. From eight yards she finished into the bottom left corner.

Leah Deutsch then claimed her first goal of the season with an individual effort that began 40 yards from goal. Deutsch took the ball on the right wing, beat four FIU players, before drilling a left footed effort from 20 yards that hit the left post and bounced across the goal line.

Florida International came into the game in the second half but the chances came for Charleston with Ortega and Lesmes both having efforts from the edge of the box. Ortega's effort was tipped onto the post while Lesmes' flew narrowly round the top right corner.

Genevieve Henderson made two saves in 45 minutes with Meredith Holton playing the second half, saving one. Beck, Raymara Barreto and Deutsch all made the All-Tournament team for their performances over the two Charleston Classic matches.

With the victory Charleston move to 3-3-0 on the season and now look to Thursday evenings matchup against in-state and in-city rivals, Charleston Southern, at Patriots Point.

Postgame Quotes - Head Coach Christian Michner
On the game…
"I think we kind of put the game to bed in the first half. Our pressure was fantastic for really, 90 minutes. The talk before the game was how much pressure can we put them under? Then when we get the ball in the final third, can we be clinic and finish our chances? Credit to their goalkeeper, she had a great game and made a lot of saves for them. But I felt like our first half performance was good enough to win the game and today it was."

On the improved team performance…
"We were really disappointed walking off the field on Friday night. Losing to Ball State and having felt like we played pretty well for parts of that game and didn't really get anything out of it. For the girls to step up and respond today and score some nice goals and certainly create a lot more chances to score… I'm excited about where my team is and looking forward to the future."
 
Charleston Classic All-Tournament 11
College of Charleston
Alyssa Beck
Raymara Barreto
Leah Deutsch
 
Charleston Southern
Ali Crossland
Taylor Francis
Grace Clark
 
Florida International
Christina Velazquez
Amanda Grifol

Ball State
Tristan Stuteville
Julia Elvbo
Sammi Corcoran

Notables
• Leah Deutsch scored her first collegiate goal
• Charleston out-shot Florida International, 28-5
• Laura Ortega had a team high eight shots, three on target
• Meredith Tunney was the lone Cougar to play the full 90 minutes
• 25 Cougars saw playing time over the 90 minutes

Next Up
Charleston host in-state and in-city rivals, Charleston Southern, on Thursday evening for the annual Silver Cup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Patriots Point.