LEAD

LINCOLN, Ill. -- In a goal-filled game, the Sabercats and Alexis Sponable were as unstoppable as the wind that whipped through the Lincoln Christian University campus.

Sponable scored six goals to record the first-ever double hat-trick in Maranatha Women's Soccer history and move into a tie for third in career goals as the Sabercats won 10-1.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 10-1 Lincoln Christian 
• Venue: Lincoln Christian University
• Location: Lincoln, Ill.
• Attendance: 65
• Records: MBU (4-3-0), LCU (0-9-0)

STORY

The scoring frenzy started in the 13th minute when Amy Montgomery found a wide-open Sponable near the top of the LCU penalty area. Sponable made no mistake after controlling the pass, burying her effort in the right corner for the 1-0 lead.

The Red Lions answered quickly with a breakaway goal, but that was the only consolation the hosts would put up in the first half. At the 23rd-minute mark, Taylor Moses crossed the ball in to Sponable after a corner kick, and the goal-scorer headed the ball into the far corner for her second.

From there, the floodgates blew wide open.

Sponable and Moses teamed up to score five goals in just 11 minutes. Moses added the fifth of the day and the rest came from Sponable, who painted all the corners of the net to vault up the page of the record books.

Montgomery was a frequent flyer on the scoresheet as well, notching three assists in the first half. Montgomery was denied by the post, the crossbar, and the LCU goalkeeper but made her mark by setting up Sponable for two goals and Moses for one.

At halftime, Sponable had six, the Sabercats had seven, and Lincoln Christian was left with one goal but a lot more problems.

The very fact that Moses scored a hat-trick and didn't make the headlines is proof enough that this game was something special. Twice in the second half, Moses faked out an LCU defender at the top of the box before firing into the net. Moses nailed the upper corner with a 20-yard bullet and finessed a finish into the bottom-left corner to mark her hat-trick in style. Gabrielle Torres put the exclamation point on her first collegiate start by nailing a shot from outside the box that flew in untouched into the far corner of the Red Lions' net.

All in all, the day was one to celebrate and remember, as the Sabercats move above .500 for the season and Sponable joins a list of prolific Maranatha goalscorers (below) 

MBU Starters: 0- Wright, 6- Montgomery (C), 7- Evans, 10- Riley, 11- Torres, 12-Moore, 13- Bagin, 14- Sponable, 15- Hendrickson, 17- Moses, 19- Steuerwald

MARANATHA TOP 5 GOAL-SCORERS

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 41-3 Lincoln Christian
• Sponable: 6 goals
• Sponable: Now T-3rd all-time in career goals at Maranatha (44)
• Moses: 3 goals
• Montgomery: 3 assists
• Torres: 1st collegiate goal
• Last year: Maranatha won 8-1 at home
• Series: Maranatha now leads the series 12-0-1

OPPONENTS

• LCU are members of the NAIA and the NCCAA DI
• LCU competes in the NAIA as an independent member
• LCU used to compete with Maranatha in the NCCAA DII Midwest Region

NEXT

The Sabercats will travel to Lawrence University on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.