ROME, Ga. – An always important conference road win was delivered by the West Georgia Wolves soccer team on Sunday as UWG defeated Shorter 4-0 in Gulf South Conference play in Rome.
 
West Georgia (5-2, 3-1 GSC) rebounded nicely after Friday's loss, scoring four goals and pitching a shutout on Sunday on the way to their third straight win over Shorter.
 
Head coach Stacey Balaam's squad got off to a lightning fast start on Sunday, putting a goal on the board in the ninth minute thanks to Sadie Prince. The senior took a pass from fellow senior Jazmine Santiago and scored in the lower right corner.
 
"It was a solid team effort today both offensively and defensively," said Balaam. "We emphasized the importance of starting quickly and creating chances early. It was a game where we felt we could have a lot of the ball but how we used it was important."
 
It was Prince's 14^th career goal, moving her up another spot in the UWG record book to tied for seventh all-time in career goals.
 
Just five minutes later, the Wolves got another goal, this one coming from junior Cassidi Thomas, putting the Wolves up a pair of goals less than 15 minutes into the contest.
 
West Georgia would take that 2-0 lead into the halftime break, outshooting the Hawks 10-2 in the opening 45.
 
In the second half, West Georgia got two more goals with Kaylah Nichols and Jade Butcher each scoring. Nichols' goal came in the 69^th minute and was assisted by Florence Pegrum. It was Nichols' second goal of the season and the first career assist for Pegrum.
 
Butcher connected on her first career goal, accounting for the final margin, in the 73^rd minute.
 
It's the second time UWG has scored four goals, tying a season-high for single game goals. West Georgia also scored four goals in the shutout win over Clayton State in the home opener.
 
Defensively, Balaam went with Haley Brinkman in goal for the first half and Abbie Chaves in goal in the second half. Brinkman was the only one to face a shot on goal, which she handled to give the Wolves a shutout.

"It was nice to get a clean sheet but also good to have four different goal scorers," added Balaam.
 
That makes four shutouts in seven games this season, giving UWG the most in a season since 2017. The Wolves finished 2017 with six total shutouts.
 
West Georgia is back on the road in GSC play next weekend, heading to Mississippi to take on Delta State on Friday and Mississippi College on Sunday.