FULTON, Mo. - Facing reigning NAIA Defensive Player of the Week, Lauren Harding of the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis (6-6, 3-2 American Midwest Conference) didn't bother William Woods University (8-5-3, 4-1), as the Owls cruised to a 7-1 Homecoming win, first of two WWU wins in its athletics tripleheader, over the Eutectics Saturday at North Campus Athletic Complex.

Staying in the attacking third for a significant amount of the contest, William Woods outshot UHSP 13-4 in the first half and 19-5 in the second half, good for 32 (17 on goal) to nine (six on goal) overall. The Owls also had four corner kicks in the game, one more than the Eutectics.

"The themes and tactics we trained on this past week really showed in the game," William Woods women's soccer coach Lauren Robb said. "Our goals were fast and came off of very good passing connections and possession. The last thing we'd mentioned at halftime was how long it had been since we had a second-half goal - the girls changed that very quickly! It was a very fun game. Proud of the whole team."

It didn't take long for The Woods to get on the scoreboard, as Marissa Kiemen, a JUCO transfer from Iowa Central Community College, netted her first goal as an Owl 1:58 into the match. In quick succession, WWU doubled its lead as Hannah Loethen found the back of the net 17 seconds after Kiemen's tally to make it 2-0 Owls; Megan Hughes assisted Loethen's goal.

William Woods added another two goals to its lead before halftime. Lauren Helmert scored off of Hughes' second assist in the 14th minute, and Zoe Hargis netted her shot provided by Maddy Schrader in the 27th minute.

The Owls had an even quicker start to their scoring in the second half, with Loethen finishing off her two-goal game by slotting her shot into the goal from Hughes' match-high third - also totaled a match-high five points -  assist 19 seconds after halftime. 

Loethen was right behind Hughes with four points, and she earned her final two when she scored in the 71st minute from a Zoe Lockhert pass, furthering WWU's advantage to 6-0. Lockhert turned goalscorer eight minutes later; Charley Luczak assisted the Owls' final goal, making it 7-0 with 11:47 to go in the contest.

UHSP's leading scorer, Isabelle Rogers, netted her seventh goal this season 82:07 into the game to conclude the offense with the Owls winning by six goals against the Eutectics, who conceded one goal over their two previous matches heading into Saturday.

Goalkeeper Belle Boschert (4-4-3) made five saves in six attempts for William Woods, and UHSP's Harding stopped 10 shots in 17 attempts. 

The Owls committed nine fouls and received one yellow card in the 60th minute, and the Eutectics had 10 fouls and were handed a yellow card in the 59th minute.

William Woods hosts rival Missouri Baptist University (5-8-1, 3-1-1 AMC), a matchup between the No. 2 seed (WWU) and No. 3 seed (MBU) through Saturday's games, at 5 p.m. Tuesday. 


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