ST. PAUL, Minn. – At halftime on Tuesday night at Reynolds Field, the University of Northwestern Women's Soccer team found itself in a frustrating position. The Eagles were outshooting Martin Luther College 23-6 and 10-3 on goal, but the score after the first 45 minutes was just 1-1. Borrowing a phrase from basketball, they needed to "see a few go in" to get things rolling. And boy, did they ever.
Northwestern actually trailed to open the game after Martin Luther scored in the 8
th minute. However, that deficit was quickly vanquished by
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School), who continued her offensive hot streak by hitting a rocket of a shot from so far out that a different area code was needed, evening the score in the 9
th. Despite several other scoring chances for UNW in the first half, the teams were all square at intermission.
The Knights nearly regained the lead in the 48
th minute, but UNW goalkeeper
Samantha Hansen (Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy) was able to stop a one-on-one breakaway attempt by MLC to keep the score level. Then,
Haley Mersberger (Kiel, Wisc./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah) happened.
The reigning UMAC Offensive Player of the Year was able to track down a corner kick from
Megan Kohrt (Monona, Wis./Homeschool) that had bounced off the MLC goalie's hands in the 59
th minute and headed it in to give Northwestern its first lead of the contest. Five minutes later, Kohrt and Mersberger connected on another corner kick assist to extend UNW's lead to two. In the 71
st minute, Mersberger's head once again came through, redirecting a
Mya Chan (Brandon, S.D./Homeschool) corner kick into the back of the net. The hat trick was the sophomore's third in the past five games and the sixth of her career.
The score would hold the rest of the way, resulting in a 4-1 win for Northwestern and putting UNW above .500 in conference play. The Eagles outshot the Knights 43-13 and 21-7 on goal. Moeller led UNW in shot attempts with 14, five of which were on goal. Mersberger followed with 12 and seven on goal. Chan shot five times with four on goal, while Kohrt and
Briella Babcock (Byron, Minn./Byron) contributed five shots and two shots on goal each.
Elle Bush (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) also added a shot on goal. Hansen finished the contest with six saves.
The Eagles will return to action Saturday at Reynolds Field against Minnesota-Morris. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM. You can catch all the action on the Eagle Sports Network and unweagles.com.
