NEW ULM, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Women's Soccer team appears to be heating up as the conference schedule is in full swing. Coming off a 3-0 win over North Central on Saturday, Northwestern continued its strong play on both ends of the field Wednesday by winning on the road at Martin Luther College, 5-0. After the result, the two teams now have matching 3-6 records, however UNW is now 3-2 in UMAC play while MLC falls to 1-3 in the conference.
The Eagles went on the attack early and often, racking up five shots on goal in the opening minutes before
Alix Krueger (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake Area) was finally able to convert the fifth into the second goal of her freshman season in the 15
th minute, off an assist from
Haley Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah). After four more Northwestern shots on goal were saved,
Naomi Meehan (Waconia, Minn./Homeschool) took a pass from Krueger and converted a 29
th minute shot (her second goal in as many games) from an unfathomable distance to put UNW ahead, 2-0. Martin Luther finally produced its first shot on goal in the 36
th minute, but it was saved by
Samantha Hansen (Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy). Eight minutes later, Krueger scored again to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead entering halftime. At the break, Northwestern held a 20-2 shots advantage and 13-1 on goal.
UNW continued to dominate possession out of the intermission, culminating in
Meghan Corbett's (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) first goal of the season in the 55
th minute, which was assisted by
Briella Babcock (Byron, Minn./Byron). Just three minutes later, Mersberger found the back of the net, courtesy of a perfectly lofted pass from
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School), for the third time in the past two games to make it 5-0 in favor of the Eagles, which would end up being the final score. The goal was Mersberger's 58
th of her career, putting the junior just three shy of the program record for goals in a career.
Every Eagle played in the match, as they wound up out-shooting the Knights 41-4 and 22-2 on goal. They also took 10 corner kicks compared to MLC's one. Mersberger logged 13 shots and seven shots on goal, resulting in her one goal and one assist. Babcock shot 10 times, five of which were on goal, in addition to her assist, while
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School) tallied six shots, two shots on goal and an assist. Krueger and Corbett both shot twice, both on goal, and finished with two and one goals, respectively, Krueger also added an assist. Meehan's goal came on her lone shot on goal.
Samantha Hansen (Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy) and
Brynn Kolbrek (Maple Grove, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) made the two saves in net for UNW, and combined with
Kaisa Niska (Ramsey, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) to shut out Martin Luther.
Northwestern, much like its alumni, will return home on Saturday for its Homecoming game against Minnesota Morris. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 at Reynolds Field, after the conclusion of the UNW Football game.
