OLIVE BRANCH - Soggy conditions, heavy rain and a change of venue did little to stop No. 1 Northwest on Friday evening, as the Lady Rangers picked up a 3-0 shutout against 13th-ranked St. Louis.
Northwest improved to 5-0 with the victory, while earning its third victory against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Lady Rangers also hold a pair of wins against Top 10-ranked teams Heartland and Northeast (Neb.).
Freshman
Caroline Hamm got the scoring started just seven minutes into the match, netting her team-leading fourth goal of the season. Northwest would keep the pace on offense, but went the next 20 minutes without a score.
In the 28th minute,
Penny Warner broke up the scoreless drought for the Lady Rangers, toeing one in past the St. Louis goalkeeper. The score marked her second goal of the season, as Northwest took a 2-0 advantage into the break.
Though the Lady Rangers continued to take shots throughout the second half, most were unable to connect. Just when it seemed like two goals were all Northwest would get, freshman defender
Ruby Barton found the back of the net on a free kick in the 87th minute, putting the cherry on top of the 3-0 shutout.
Northwest fired off 31 total shots in the win, with 16 shots coming on-goal. St. Louis was held to just three shot attempts for the match, with all three coming in the first half.
Anna Kathryn Harrell finished with a pair of saves for the Lady Rangers, as the sophomore sensation earned her 21st career victory. Meanwhile, Taylor Kolinski finished with 13 saves for the Lady Archers in a full 90 minutes.
Northwest now turns its attention to the start of MACCC competition, as the Lady Rangers will pay a visit to Jones College on Tuesday for a showdown between the top two ranked teams in the NJCAA. The Lady Bobcats (3-0) are the defending NJCAA Division II national champions and lead the all-time series against Northwest, 4-3-1.
Kickoff is set for 5 P.M. from Ellisville, with broadcast coverage available at
jcbobcats.com. Tickets for the match are also on sale
here.
