SUPERIOR, Wis. – Last fall, the University of Northwestern women's soccer team saw its dreams of a conference championship come to an end at the hands of the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the UMAC championship game. It's safe to assume both teams had September 19, 2023 circled on their calendars as soon as the 2023 conference schedule was released, and the title game rematch lived up to its billing for most of the evening.
After a blank slate for a majority of the first half that featured four saves by Northwestern's freshman goalkeeper
Samantha Hansen (Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy), UWS was able to break through with a goal in the 38
th minute. Fresh off some rest and hydration at halftime,
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School) was able to quickly even the score in the 51
st minute with her first goal of her senior season.
The two teams then traded possession without much action at the net until the 69
th minute when the Yellowjackets banked in a shot off the left post to take the lead for good. They added the game's final goal in the 73
rd minute.
Although
Haley Mersberger's (Kiel, Wisc./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah) streak of multi-goal games came to an end Tuesday night, she was still as active as ever, logging four shots and one shot on goal. Moeller added two additional shots on top of her goal and
Briella Babcock (Byron, Minn./Byron) contributed the other shot UNW took. Hansen finished the game with five saves in net.
The Eagles will be back in action Saturday at 3:30 PM, as they continue conference play with a road tilt at North Central.
