ITTA BENA, Mississippi — For the first four games, the Northwestern State soccer team showed its scoring prowess from Emily Senatore, Paige Baumgartner and Hosane Soukou.
In Sunday afternoon’s 7-0 victory at Mississippi Valley State, the Demons (3-1-1) showed their scoring depth, as six different players found the back of the net to score their seven goals in the rout.
“It’s always good to get a win,” head coach Ian Brophy said. “It was a good non-conference game and we escaped without any major injuries, so I am really happy with the end result.”
NSU scored in the second minute on a goal from Baumgartner and never looked back, as she scored lower right corner past MVSU goalkeeper Genesis Austin on a clean look off a header pass from Ravina Sandhu to put the Demons in front.
The usual suspects — Baumgartner, Soukou and Senatore — all scored in the first half, recording three of the team’s first four goals, as Baumgartner’s goal was followed by goals by Soukou in the 16th minute and Emily Senatore in the 27th minute.
The trio has combined for nine goals in the first five games, with Senatore leading the way with four.
The third goal came off the foot of Emily Gundin, who found the back of the net twice for her first collegiate multi-goal game.
“It felt amazing to score those two goals,” Gundin said. “While I didn’t start, I was just waiting for the opportunity, and I feel like I took advantage of it. It wasn’t just me, it was a team effort. I thought we played well all around. We had beautiful assists from a number of different players, so it was really awesome to see.”
The assist on that third goal came from Riley Stern, who posted a career-high three assists, one shy of tying the school record.
“It was really good to get my teammates on the board,” Stern said. “When we all came on, it was 2-0 and we knew we needed to get the ball rolling with goals, so I found the open player, and they put it away and made me look good.”
NSU scored five goals in a span of 6:03 to blow the contest wide open. The seven goals in a half are the most in either half since scoring eight in the second half of a 12-0 victory over Alcorn State in 2005.
NSU not only dominated on the scoreboard, but also in shots, recording an 18-0 edge in the first half and 25-0 for the game. The teams played an abbreviated 25-minute (standard time is 45 minutes) second half
The Demons turn their attention to a two-match week with both at home, against Grambling on Thursday and UL Lafayette next Sunday.
