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In a brief respite from their grueling schedule, women’s soccer came away with a 7–0 victory in a non-conference game against Anderson University (1–13–2) Wednesday.
The 12th-ranked Maroons (11–2–1, 2–1–1 UAA) took an early lead with fourth-year forward Brook Bontz scoring in the third minute of the game, and then again in the 10th. After that, the offensive effort was more evenly divided, with four Maroons scoring four goals between them, plus an own goal by Anderson.
“Everyone got some really good runs in today. Overall, it was a great performance,” fourth-year midfielder Melissa Plesac said.
In the 18th minute of the game, second-year defender Maggie Tobin sent a perfectly placed ball into the box from the right side of the 18. Third-year forward Sarah Loh, on the far side of the goal at the six, scored the team’s third goal with an aptly placed header.
Chicago dominated possession of the ball, hardly giving the Anderson offense a chance to mount an attack. Anderson was only able to offer a few isolated individual runs that were put to a halt by the Maroon defense. All told, the Maroons took 32 shots to Anderson's four.
The non-conference game gave the Maroons a less competitive atmosphere in which they could hone their skills. The team substituted frequently, giving many members of the team a chance to get some game time.
“It was a perfect opportunity to get better at what we’re already good at, and fix mistakes in a different setting,” Plesac said.
This game came in the midst of a taxing UAA schedule. Last weekend, Chicago played two conference opponents, losing to 15th-ranked Rochester on Friday and topping Case Sunday.
“With UAAs, it’s obviously a really tough physical schedule, so this was an opportunity for us to regroup physically and take a step back and really rework the specifics of our game plan,” Plesac said. “The game gave us an opportunity to rework those little things that we need to get better at.”
The team will carry the momentum from this shutout into this Saturday’s game against UW–LaCrosse (4–10–1). The non-conference interlude comes to an end next weekend, when the Maroons will travel to play NYU (8–5–1, 0–3–1) in New York City.
