THE LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Three goals in a five-minute stretch gave the Central College Dutch a fast start, and they never looked back on a cool afternoon at Maranatha.

The visitors took a 7-0 win over the Sabercats, as MBU fell to 2-2-0 on the season.

THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-7 Central
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 92
• Records: MBU (2-2-0), CC (2-1-0)

THE STORY

The Dutch started their scoring spree in the eighth minute when Lauren Vahlkamp got behind the Sabercats' back line and scored low into the right corner from left side of the penalty area. Vahlkamp's well-placed shot was followed up by a well-timed run and header from Olivia Denham, who nodded in an Elise Askelsen cross for the 2-0 lead.

The third came just seconds later. Olivia Stoop took an 18-yard shot that scored low past a diving Lindsay Hodgs, then Mikaela Erickson then added a fourth with another low strike from the top of the box that found the bottom-left corner in the 20th minute.

The Sabercats locked things down for the next 16 minutes, but Baylee Kivett got things going again when she tapped in a cross from Erickson to make it a 5-0 game. That scoreline would hold until the halftime break.

Maranatha tightened their defense for the majority of the second half, but Sophia Sanchez finally rebooted the scoring efforts for Central with a low shot into the corner in the 86th minute. Just one minute later, Central scored with a loose ball after a corner kick, as Ceora Leclaire whacked in a close-range finish through traffic.

Hodgs had quite the day at the office, making 15 saves in the second half alone. 

At the end of the day, the Sabercats had effectively improved their outlook on the game, as they limited to Dutch to two late goals in the second act.

THE STATS

• Central: fired 26 shots on frame
• Central: had seven different goal-scorers 
• Series: The Dutch now hold a 4-0-0 advantage in the series.

THE OPPONENTS

• The Dutch compete in the American Rivers Conference (formerly the IIAC)
• Central opened the year with a close 0-1 loss to Albion and a 8-2 win over DIII mainstays North Park
• Erin Manion currently has 27 career goals for CC
• Last year, Central defeated Maranatha, 4-0 (Sep. 1 at Pella, Iowa)

THE OUTLOOK

The Sabercats will travel to Marian University next Thursday (Sep. 13) at 7:00 p.m. Find details of the game at mbusabercats.com/composite.