MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's soccer team controlled possession throughout the match, creating chance after chance in a 5-1 win over North Central University. The win now puts the Cougars at the top of the UMAC with 18 points, improving to 6-2-0 (6-1-0 UMAC) on the season.
The first half was somewhat frustrating for the Cougars, who went to the break with just a 2-1 lead despite taking 24 shots and earning 10 corner kicks in the first 45 minutes. The opener for the Cougars came in the 14th minute as build-up play from
Harper Toward and
Monica Calderon ended with a cross to the back post where
Sam Tate fought off a North Central defender to bury the shot for a 1-0 edge.
BeBe Say doubled the lead for the Cougars in the 23rd minute, stripping the Rams of possession and running in on goal from the left wing before finishing at a tight angle past Arien Fritts.
The rest of the first half featured plenty of action in front of the NCU goal, but no third score to essentially push the match out of reach. To the contrary, on one of the few forays up the field for the Rams, Hannah Grubbs was able to score with a shot high over the leaping
Megan Tschida after a cross from Kara Lewis.
Order was restored in the second half as the Cougars continued to pile on the pressure in front of the North Central goal. Minnesota Morris made it 3-1 in the 56th minute when
Matteya Borah gave the ball to Say and the freshman dribbled into the heart of the NCU defense before
Hannah Pedderson stepped into a shot from the top of the 18-yard box where Fritts was unable to get a hand to it.
Calderon upped the lead to 4-1 in the 62nd minute with a goal on her first touch of the ball, assisted by Pedderson and Tate. The final tally for the Cougars came in the 73rd minute as
Lacey Keller scored her first goal of the season at a tight angle from the
Emma Giere feed to increase the margin to 5-1.
For the match, Minnesota Morris ended with a 49-7 advantage in total shots. Tschida earned the win in goal for the Cougars, making one save. Calderon had 11 shots (five on goal), while Pedderson had nine (three on goal). Toward added seven shots and Tate had six.
Minnesota Morris wraps up the regular season on May 1 with a trip to Duluth to face the College of St. Scholastica at 3:30 p.m. The final seeding for the UMAC Tournament will be determined after that day, with the possibility that the Cougars could host a semifinal at Big Cat Stadium on May 5 depending on results around the conference.
