The Waynesburg University Women’s Soccer team shut out Bethany College, 8-0 at John F. Wiley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Amanda Pepe scored four goals in the game.

The scoring began in the 12th minute after a collision between Bethany defender Chloe Lee and Miracle Hershey which resulted in a penalty kick. The Yellow Jackets elected Reagan Mittendorf to kick the shot that passed the right side of the diving goalkeeper, Hope Fair.

“Reagan did a great job burying that shot,” head coach George DeAugustino said. “That really set the tone.”

In the 20th minute, junior midfielder Hailey Gilchrest delivered a shot to the back of the net to make the score 2-0, with Julz Mohrbacher picking up the assist.

“Since Westminster, we spent a lot of time just finishing and executing our chances,” DeAugustino said. We were able to get balls wide and get balls open for runners to connect on.”

Amanda Pepe sent the ball to the goal but was deflected off the fingertips of Fair to the left goal post, then slowly rolled to the right side of the goal in the 36th minute.

“Its great to see Pepe be rewarded for her hard work,” DeAugustino said.

At the end of the half, Waynesburg led 3-0. The Yellow Jackets led with 15 shots, nine shots on goal and two corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Alexus Greenlief had two saves as well in the first half.

In the 47th minute, Mohrbacher broke free from Aleese Maldonado on a spin move and fired a shot past Fair to make the game 4-0.

“I refused to lose that game,” Mohrbacher said. “After last year’s loss against Bethany, there was no doubt in my mind we were gonna win this game.”

Later in the game, Mittendorf scored her second goal of the game on a free kick. 

Pepe completed the hat trick in the second half and collected a total of four goals on the night. Pepe is the seventh player in recorded school history to have three or more goals in one game and the first player since Haley Johnson against Geneva in 2021 to have four goals in one game. 

Pepe contributes her sophomore success to her hard work in the weight room and work on the mental game.

“I knew everyone was gonna be stepping up their game, so I had to as well,” Pepe said. “I definitely put in a lot more work over the summer and I’m really excited to see it paying off right now. Mentally, I focused on knowing that not everything is going to go my way and staying level headed.”

Pepe is now first in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in points with 20. 

Waynesburg outshot Bethany 25-13, 17 of which were shots on goal to Bethany’s six.

“I’m really proud of this group.” Mohrbacher said. “As a team we are very close and very supportive of one another.”

The Yellow Jackets have shut out opponents seven times in nine games and have not given up a goal to an opponent since Sept. 10th against Pitt-Greensburg.

“They are essentially the glue to this team,” Pepe said about the Waynesburg defense. “Their soccer I.Q is so high, they know exactly what to do and remain calm under pressure. I describe them as a brick wall.”

The Yellow Jackets have won all five games at home this year and only allowed one goal at John F. Wiley Stadium.

“We love playing at home,” DeAugustino said. “Winning at Wiley is important. We want to get three points every single time we are here. We defend it and we are not conceiving goals here or on the road to be honest.”

Waynesburg University is scheduled to compete against Allegheny College on Wednesday, Oct. 1. The last time these two teams faced were in the first round of playoffs where Allegheny knocked Waynesburg out, 3-1.