LEXINGTON, Va.- Senior forward Robyn Busha scored a hat trick to lead UNC Asheville to a 5-0 win against VMI on Sunday afternoon at Patchin Field. The win improves the Bulldogs to 3-12 overall and 1-5 in the Big South, while the Keydets fell to 5-11-2 overall and 1-5 in the League standings.

Busha (Saline, Mich.) needed little time to get things going in the match, scoring in the game's first minute from the left-side of the box to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage. She then notched her second goal of the day in the game's 40th minute, when she headed home her sixth goal of the season after a pass from McKenna Stockhausen (Asheville, N.C.) after her pass from the right flank.

Despite holding a 2-0 lead at the half and a slight 8-6 advantage in shots, UNCA saw much of the play in the game's opening period on their defensive end, as the Keydets often pressed the ball on the attack, but were able to generate few shots in the process. In fact, VMI had each of the seven corner kicks in the game's first half, but came up empty in each instance.

The Bulldogs came out firing away in the second half, with Busha pushing the advantage to 3-0 in the 73rd minute, hammering home a free ball in the box after VMI keeper Heidi Beemer came out to play the ball high in the box. It marked the first time this season that the Keydets had given up a hat trick to an opposing player.

However the UNCA attack did not stop there. Just over two minutes later, Kate Barrow (Decatur, Ga.) scored her first goal of the season, converting a corner kick by Juliana Duncan (Raleigh, N.C.) for a 4-0 advantage. The game's final goal came with less than a minute remaining, as Katy Beeler (Asheville, N.C.) scored her second goal of the season from the top of the box to bring the final score to 5-0.

After outshooting VMI 15-1 in the second half, UNCA held a 23-7 overall margin in shots in the game, while VMI held a strong advantage in corner kicks at 8-3. Splitting time for the visitors in goal were Veronica Lazar (Weston, Fla.), who made four saves in the game's opening period, and Shanna Brown (Fairbanks, Alaska). For the Keydets, Angela Redmond (Fairfax Station, Va.) allowed two goals while making three saves in the game's first period, while Heidi Beemer played the first 33 minutes of the second half in goal, allowing two goals and notching three saves before giving way to Kathleen Underwood for the final 13 minutes, allowing the final goal.

"You have to give a lot of credit to UNC Asheville, they came ready to play today," said VMI head coach Bryan Williams. "For a while in the first half, we played a good consistent game and really dominated the play. But the halftime adjustments saw them really pick up their intensity and effort and they came out and put the game out of reach. The final score of 5-0 is the worst defeat that we've had all year, and having both of our goalkeepers give up multiple goals was disappointing to see. I'm certainly glad that this wasn't our last game of the season, and for our seniors especially, even though this was their day. Now we get a week to prepare for Charleston Southern and we're in the Tournament as well, so we have some opportunities to finish on a higher note."

Prior to the match, the Keydets honored their two seniors, Alexa Bernas (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Erin Squires (Mechanicsville, Va.), as they will graduate as the winningest senior class in program history.

The Keydets return to action next Saturday evening, taking on Charleston Southern on the road at 6 p.m. in their regular season finale. The team will then make their first appearance in the Big South Championship the following weekend, held in Charleston, S.C. at Blackbaud Stadium.