ST. PAUL, MINN. – Opening up conference play, the University of Northwestern women's soccer team [1-0 UMAC] defeated Bethany Lutheran College [0-4, 0-1 UMAC], 5-0, in Wednesday evening's home contest. With the win, the Eagles jump to 1-4 on the season.

Opening up the first half on a strong note, Linley Norman (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) netted the first goal of the game, as teammate Anna Welch (Lakeville, Minn./Homeschool) tabbed the assist. Five minutes later, Norman buried another, lifting the score 2-0 in the home teams favor. Megan Larsen (Appleton, Wis./Appleton East) helped out in the action, as the senior midfielder tallied the assist.

With 23:45 left to play on the period, Emily Goeppinger (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) sank the team's third goal to extend the lead 3-0 over the Vikings, while Larsen collected her second assist.

The powerful performance by Norman continued, as she netted a hat trick goal to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead at the intermission break.

Capping off the first half, Northwestern recorded nine shots [6 SOG], while Bethany Lutheran had a notable two shots [2 SOG].

On the second period, Dana Lehtinen (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) knocked in UNW's final goal off of a header shot, allowing the Eagles to soar to a 5-0 victory on the night's competition.

Concluding the match, Northwestern totaled a season-high 27 shots [19 SOG].

The stat leaders on the evening battle were Norman [7 S / 5 SOG / 3G], Larsen [5S / 5 SOG / 2A], Goeppinger [4S / 1 SOG / 1G], and Lehtinen [2S / 2 SOG / 1G].

The purple and gold will remain at home for their next contest on Saturday, September 16th, as they host North Central University. Kickoff is slated for 4:15 p.m. at Reynolds Field. Fans can visit www.unweagles.com for more information.