PEMBROKE – Freshman Alex McManus registered UNCP's first hat trick in more than three years as the Braves scored twice in the game's first four minutes to set the tone early and stay perfect in non-conference play with an 8-0 rout of visiting Mount Olive Wednesday evening at Varsity Grounds.

McManus tallied the first multi-goal game of her career and turned in the first hat trick for UNCP (6-2-1) since former Lady Brave Yasemin Sunbul netted a trio of goals in an 8-0 win over Coker on Sept. 21, 2004. Lefke Boysen, Faye Corbett, Jamie Clarke, Ashley McManus and Brittany Greaves also added scores for the Black and Gold as well.

Rookie Anna Wommack picked up the first points of her career on a pair of assists, as did Karmi Dagnachew (assist) and Meredith Pierson (assist). Mount Olive (2-6-1) got a nine-save second half from goalkeeper Amanda Huber for their only highlights of the night.

The Braves took an 18-2 shot advantage into the break and finished the contest owning a 37-3 shot disparity. The hosts registered 22 shots on goal, while holding the Trojans to just one on-target look in the game. Goalkeepers Whitney Beverly and Kristen Parker split time in goal for the team shutout, with 20 players seeing action for UNCP on the night. With the result, the Braves improved their record this season in non-conference tilts out to 6-0-0.

“I told the girls that we needed to dictate the pace of the game tonight,” said UNCP head coach Lars Andersson. “It was a total team effort and it was exactly what this team needed before going into a tough Clayton State game on Saturday.”

McManus canned her first two goals 58 seconds apart in the opening minutes of the game, first scoring an unassisted goal at the 2:50 mark, then using a perfect service from Boysen and an ensuing header to push the lead out to a pair just 58 seconds later. Boysen and Corbett would add goals in the 18th and 25th minutes, respectively, to give UNCP a 4-0 lead heading into the break.

Clarke provided her score nine minutes into the second stanza, Ashley McManus extended the lead to six with a 66th minute strike and McManus finished off her hat trick off a rebound from a laser shot by Pierson with 13 minutes left on the clock. Greaves capped off the night's scoring with a goal in the 82nd minute.

UNCP will step back into Peach Belt Conference play on Saturday when the Braves travel to Morrow, Ga., for a key league tilt against Clayton State (4-3-1, 1-2-0 PBC). Kickoff time has been set for 4:30 p.m. at Laker Field and will open up a soccer doubleheader with UNCP's men slated to battle the 23rd-ranked Lakers (5-2-1, 0-1-0) at 7 p.m.