MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Eagles took on the North Central Rams on Friday in a make-up game from October 19. Northwestern continued its hot streak, winning its third game in a row by an impressive score of 6 goals to none. This women's team has outscored their opponents 18-1 in the last three matches.
Early in the first half,
Haley Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah) did what she does best on the soccer pitch. Mersberger notched the first goal for the Eagles in the 13
th minute. Mersberger's goal came off a corner kick, which was taken by
Megan Moeller (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Christian School). The Rams got to the kick first and were able to clear the ball for a moment, until Megan Corbett passed it back into the box, where Mersberger then tapped it in. At first glance, the Rams thought they cleared the shot off the line, but upon further review, the official signaled that ball had fully crossed the goal line. After this opening goal, the Eagles found the back of the net three more times in the opening half.
Megan Kohrt (Monona, Wis./Homeschool) tallied the second goal of the afternoon in the 23
rd minute after she stole the ball from a North Central defender near midfield. Kohrt dribbled into some free space at the top of the penalty box and hit a laser with her left foot into the top corner of the goal.
Two minutes after her goal, Kohrt took another shot from the same spot. This time; however, as the ball was rolling toward the Ram's keeper, Mersberger flashed through the box and tapped it in just before the keeper could corral it. This marked the third goal in just 25 minutes of play.
With twelve minutes left in the half, Northwestern pushed down the field once again. The attack was led by
Naomi Meehan (Waconia, Minn./Homeschool). Meehan controlled the ball and delivered a leading pass to
Alix Krueger (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake Area) who slipped behind the Rams' back line. Without an angle to shoot, Krueger crossed the ball into the box and found
Madeline Hallberg (Princeton, Minn./Princeton), who took the shot and buried final goal of the half.
Northwestern found themselves back on the attack after the break. The relentless offense found Kohrt with a lot of space in the box. Kohrt has been unreal on offense and has either scored or assisted on at least one goal in the last four games. The veteran senior didn't have a clear line to the goal as she controlled the pass, so she took a couple touches to avoid a lunging defender, then took the shot which slipped between the legs of another defender before hitting the far bottom corner of the goal.
The final goal of the game came from another hot foot for the Eagles,
Sophia Brenteson (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum). Leading up to the goal,
Julia Bradley (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) received a pass around midfield from Kohrt. Bradley had an opening up the sideline and as a defender was closing in on her, she took a touch to get to the inside of her defender. After losing her defender, she passed the ball to Brenteson who got a clean contact on the shot and found the back of the net. This was Brenteson's second game in a row with a goal after scoring for the first time in the Eagles' win on Wednesday.
The officials and coaches called the game after Brenteson's goal in the 75
th minute. Mersberger finished the day with two goals on three shots. Kohrt also tallied two goals on 10 shots and five shots on goal. Hallberg notched a goal on five shots and four shots on target. Krueger, Corbett, and Bradley each finished with an assist. Meehan took five shots and landed three on target, and Moeller took four shots and put three on target, while
Lauren Bosley (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) finished with three total shots. Impressively, the Eagles defense did not allow the Rams to shoot a single shot during the game and outshot them 36-0 to ensure the shutout.
This match concludes the 2024 regular season for the UNW women's soccer team. The Eagles are currently ranked fourth for the UMAC tournament. However, their ranking may change to third based on the outcomes of the final regular season games throughout the UMAC tomorrow. Regardless of the results from tomorrow, the Eagles will play on the road on November 6
th in a UMAC Semifinal game.
