The Northwestern women’s soccer team came away successful on Saturday when they faced Midland University and picked up a win. The final score was 2-0, which brings NW’s win streak to five in a row.
The Raiders had only two shot attempts in the first half, but they made both count. Throughout the game, NW had six shot attempts, while Midland had 23 but failed to convert.
NW’s defense stayed strong throughout the whole game, with sophomores Sabrina Tarchione and Sarah Beaton as well as freshman goalkeeper Madison Fordyce leading the line. The defense helped Fordyce earn her fifth shutout of the year.
“It was my fifth shutout, and it’s very exciting because it was also against a top ranked offensive team that I earned the shutout from,” Fordyce said. “But I can never take all the credit because the girls in front of me on the field did their jobs to ensure they never got an easy chance to shoot.”
The first score in the game was put in by senior Jennifer Inge, assisted by junior Madison Bertman. Then, less than five minutes later, senior Alissa Christoffer got the score up to 2-0 before the fifteen minute mark.
The win brought NW up to 7-4 (3-0) for the season, and took Midland’s record down to 8-3 (2-1). Following the game, the Raiders went to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2007 season.
“It has been a long time since our program has beaten a top 30 program,” said coach Ben Karnish. “It is always easier to beat teams when you get early goals and we did that in the first 13 minutes with two good goals. We played great defensively and shut down a team that was averaging four goals a game. It is a great win for our program.”
Fordyce agreed with Karnish’s assessment of the game.
“Personally I felt that as a team we went out and put everything we had into the match,” Fordyce said. “We knew going into the game that we had to play our hardest and we did just that.”
Following the thrilling homecoming win, the Raiders travelled to Yankton, S.D. to face Mount Marty. They picked up a convincing 6-0 win, extending their win streak to six games.
The women’s soccer team will have a game at Dordt on October 12. Last year NW beat Dordt 2-0, and the year before 3-0, so fans will have to wait and see if the team can continue that legacy.
Junior Madison Bertman plays a ball in the air during the Raiders 2-0 homecoming victory over Midland University on Saturday, Oct. 8.
