ST. PAUL, Minn. – Playing under heavy rainfall for nearly the entire game, the University of Northwestern Women's Soccer team continued its impressive play versus UMAC foes, scoring early and often in a 6-1 win over Northland College on Tuesday night. The win extended UNW's winning streak to four games and keeps
Josh Pettit's squad in contention for the UMAC regular season crown.
If you blinked after kickoff, you may have missed the Eagles' first goal of the game. Just 53 seconds in,
Megan Kohrt (Monona, Wis./Homeschool) bent a free kick from 28 yards out into the box, where it ricocheted into the net. To say that sequence set the tone for the rest of the match would be putting it lightly.
Wasting no time, Northwestern got right back to it in the third minute when
Mya Chan's (Brandon, S.D./Homeschool) corner kick deflected off of
Haley Mersberger's (Kiel, Wisc./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah) torso and past the Northland goalkeeper. In the 16
th minute,
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School) got involved, finding the right side of the net off an assist from
Briella Babcock (Byron, Minn./Byron). Still not satisfied, UNW tacked on one more before the half thanks to
Haley Mersberger (Kiel, Wisc./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah). The super sophomore took a pass from
Destiny Payan (Richfield, Minn./Richfield), took her time lining it up, and dropped a high-arcing shot from downtown over the reach of the keeper for yet another highlight reel goal. The reigning UMAC Offensive Player of the Year is now up to 15 goals on the season with eight regular season games remaining.
Northland got on the board in the 57
th minute with an impressive corner kick goal that bent around the post, but UNW answered back in the 74
th minute when a Northland defender teed her up for a strike from the top of the 18-yard box after a corner kick was cleared. Moeller added one more for good measure in the 90
th, marking her second hat trick of the season.
Destiny Payan (Richfield, Minn./Richfield) provided the assist on the game's final goal, which stretched the score to 6-1.
Mersberger put up an absurd 15 shots and 10 shots on goal in her 84 minutes of action. Kohrt added nine shots and seven on goal, while Moeller finished with seven shots, four of which were on goal.
Mya Chan (Brandon, S.D./Homeschool) had a strong performance as well, tallying six shots and two shots on goal to go along with her assist.
Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) contributed three shots, with one being on goal. As a team, UNW out-shot Northland by a staggering 42-2 margin, and 24-2 on goal.
Aylee Beimert (East Bethel, Minn./North Lakes Academy) came off the bench to make the lone save of the game for Northwestern.
UNW will put its four-game winning streak on the line Saturday at Crown College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM in St. Bonifacius.
