It did not take long for the Pioneers (2-1-1) to bounce back Friday evening, as they took on Waldorf College under the lights in Des Moines, Iowa. It took only 55 seconds for MNU to get on the board when
Kelli Reid played a ball into the box to
Steffi Krohn, who brought it down and played across to
Kalyn Pfaff who placed the ball into the back of the net, scoring in her second consecutive game. MNU would go on to create several opportunities on goal, but were denied by the Waldorf goalkeeper.
MNU's persistence would pay off, however, in the 12 minute when
RaeAnn Wiltshire played a through behind the Waldorf backline, finding the feet of
Taryn McClendon, who calmly beat the goalkeeper, putting MNU up 2-0 just 12 minutes into the game.
MNU would go on to dominate possession for most of the half, creating several chances on goal.
Kalyn Pfaff would break through once more in the first half on a through ball over the Waldorf backline from Bre Fitzgerald. The senior forward Pfaff, placed the ball into the back of the net for her second goal in the first half.
With only 6 minutes remaining in the first half, Junior forward
Allie Harvey would get on the board to put the Pioneers up 4-0. Harvey made a brilliant diagonal run behind the Waldorf backline, taking a touch and firing the ball off the crossbar and into the goal.
The second half would see all 21 of the Pioneers get into the game as MNU looked to finish the game with a strong performance. A half dominated with possession for MNU led to the loan goal of the half with 11 minutes remaining in the second half. Sophomore
Ilyssa Ruzan would find Freshman
Jessica Longhurst on a corner kick and the freshman defender blasted the ball into the back of the net for the 5-0 lead.
MNU would finish the game with a 21-2 shot advantage over Waldorf, 16 of those shots on goal, compared to the Warriors 1.
After an impressive 5-0 win on Friday evening, the Pioneers (3-1-1) did not take their foot off of the pedal, beating Judson University 4-0 on Saturday night.
Once again, the Pioneers would strike early when
RaeAnn Wiltshire fired a shot from 30 yards out into the back of the net less than two minutes into the game. The Pioneers earned a corner that was cleared to the Junior midfielder, who fired the ball past the Judson goalkeeper from distance.
MNU would strike again 24 minutes into the game when
Steffi Krohn found Senior
Kalyn Pfaff streaking into the box. The experienced forward came came across the box to find the ball from Krohn, nodding the ball past the goalkeeper with her head, putting the Pioneers up 2-0.
Pfaff would put one more in before halftime with just 8 minutes to play. Freshman
Hannah Benedict found Pfaff behind the backline once again and calmly placed the ball past the goalkeeper.
Pfaff would complete her hat trick 8 minutes into the second half from a perfectly weighted ball into the box from
Steffi Krohn. Pfaff beat the keeper once more, giving the senior the first hat trick of her career.
The Pioneer defense would go on to shut out the Eagles with a strong defensive effort, giving them their second consecutive shutout.
The Pioneers wrapped up a successful weekend in Des Moines, Iowa and will head home to prepare this week for their matchup Friday afternoon versus Johnson and Wales University at 3:00.
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