THE LEAD

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- TheMarian University Sabres scored four goals in the second half to take a commanding win over a short-handed MBU, who had six players sidelined tonight due to injury.

The win moves the Sabres to 3-3-0 for the season while the Sabercats fall to 2-3-0

THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 0-5 Marian
• Venue: Smith Field, Marian University
• Location: Fond du Lac, Wis.
• Attendance: 132
• Records: MBU (2-3-0), MU (3-3-0)

THE STORY

Marian had more attempts in the first half but they seldom bothered Lindsay Hodgs in the MBU goal. Hodgs made nine saves in the first half, but most of them were hit from long range and were a simple matter of routine. The Maranatha defense was doing its job.

Ali Hernandez took a well-struck shot with her left foot around the half-hour mark, but the Sabres' goalkeeper was up to the challenge. That was the closest that Sabercats would come in the first half, as Marian entered the halftime break with an advantage in shots, 19-4. 

The Marian Sabres got the first goal of the game in the 41st minute when a determined Carley Schmit collected her own rebound inside of the crowded penalty area and threaded it through traffic and into the back of the net. 1-0 Sabres.

The halftime break seemed to spark new life into the Sabres, as they scored less than a minute into the second half off a Riley Louko shot from the top of the box. The third goal came in the 69th minute after quick combination play at the top of the box ended with a blazer from Charity Hertel that found the top-right corner. It was starting to be all one-way traffic for Marian.

Olivia Meerdink put the fourth one away with a shot to the right corner from the middle of the box, then with five minutes left, Shannon Coughlin capped off the scoring with a finish from a rebound. 

On the Sabercats' side, Sarah Bagin and Hernandez combined for five shots on target, but Danielle Deltgen was up to the task each time, making five saves for Marian in the 90 minutes.

THE SOUND BITE

"I think our players are learning the blueprint for competing in these tough matches," said Coach Dave Anderson. "I'm really proud of our first-half performance, and now the challenge is to be able put together that type of effort and organization for over 90 minutes."

THE STATS

• Hodgs: 17 saves in the game
• Marian: had five different goal-scorers
• First starts: Sarah Moore and Amy Montgomery: earned their first career starts for MBU
• Series: The series stands a 5-17-1 in favor of Marian

THE OPPONENTS

• The Sabres compete in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC)
• Marian entered this game after narrow, 2-1 defeats to Dubuque and Wis.-Stevens Point
• Marian has already competed closely with some noteworthy Division III schools in the Midwest region
• Last year on this exact date, Marian defeated Maranatha, 6-1 (Sep. 13 at Maranatha)

THE OUTLOOK

The Sabercats will travel to Blackburn College next Friday (Sep. 21) for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff. Find details of the game at mbusabercats.com/composite.