EUGENE, Ore. – Freshman Karli Vath scored a school record four goals and two other players recorded hat tricks as the Northwest Christian University women’s soccer team topped Mills College by two touchdowns on Saturday afternoon, winning 14-0. Samantha Stewart and freshman Britney McKinley also had three goals apiece for the Beacons.
Vath got the offense rolling early, taking a rebound after Heather Henderson’s shot went off the right post, punching in the game-winner, just 32 seconds after the first whistle. In just nine minutes she would complete the hat trick, as NCU took a 4-0 lead early.
The score moved to 9-0 at the half and the Beacons tacked on five more goals in the second half. Vath finished her record setting day with four goals and two assists, moving her season total to 24 points, setting a new single-season scoring record in just the seventh game of the season.
Samantha Stewart had three goals and three assists, bumping her season total to 17 points, besting her own career record of 16 points set in 2006. Britney McKinley becomes just the third athlete in school history with a hat-trick (Vath and Stewart have each recorded two). Henderson scored one of the teams goals and added three assists and Sarah Stalling came off the bench with back-to-back assists to open the second half. She then scored a pair of her own goals, just 36 seconds apart in the final moments of the game.
Due to field availability problems on their home turf at the 32nd Street Sports Complex in Springfield, the Beacon home game was moved to Cottage Grove High School and Don King Field, the former home field for both Samantha Stewart and junior Dominique Wilson. Wilson made the most of her homecoming, scoring a goal and an assist in the second half.
After the game, head coach Vern Stewart talked about his team’s efforts, saying, “Our ability to finish today was phenomenal. We were able to move the ball well inside and that is exactly what we were looking for.” Stewart added. “The true stars of this game, though, were our offensive and defensive middles, Desiree Berry, Donn Almeida and Brittany Yip. They were able to get control of the ball and run the pace of the game from the middle and that was where the game was won. Our forwards and attacking midfielders reaped the benefit of their efforts.”
The Beacons will be back in action, and back on Mike Kelly Field at the 32nd Street Sports Complex on Tuesday night when they play host to George Fox University. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.