Dubuque, Iowa – The Central Methodist women's soccer team won its second consecutive Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season championship after a convincing win over Clarke, 11-0 Saturday afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Eagles finish the regular season with a 10-2 record, while the Pride are now 7-4 overall and 6-4 in conference action. Along with back-to-back conference titles, the Eagles have now won three Heart championships in the past four seasons, claiming titles in 2017, 2019, and now 2020.

The Eagles took an early lead, after Sandra Jakobsen received a ball in the midfield, firing it past the keeper from 20 yards out in the fourth minute of play. Just one minute later, Jakobsen received a ball out wide and sent a cross into Anika Kallash, who slipped the ball past the keeper for her first goal of the day. In the 7th minute, Elly Boothe found Zoe Jessen at the top of the box, who then dribbled past a Clarke defender to find the back of the net for Central's third goal.

Jakobsen once again found Kallash for the score, giving CMU a 4-0 lead. Jakobsen then recorded her second goal and the Eagles' fifth after the ball was deflected by a defender and found the freshman forward. Kallash collected her third hat-trick of 2020 on another assist from Jakobsen to extend the lead to six. 

The Eagles continued to add to their lead after Maria Cervello played a ball over the Pride defense to find Jessen for her second goal of the afternoon. The eighth and final goal for the Eagles in the first half started with Aina Cantero, who passed the ball into the box, finding Kallash who capitalized once again for her fourth score. 

Central finished the first half with a total of 19 shots and nine coming on frame. The Pride recorded only two shots in the game, both coming in the first 45 minutes. One-shot came on goal and was saved by CMU goalkeeper Sheila Sanchez.

CMU opened the second half with the same pace as the first. After a pass from Andrea Villar, Kallash struck again in the 53rd minute with a left-footed bomb into the upper right corner of the net for her fifth and final goal of the day. The Eagles scored their 10th goal after Kallash found Jakobsen for her second career hat-trick. Jakobsen finished the 11-0 count for the Eagles with a goal from outside the box in the 66th minute.

CMU finished the game with 30 shots and 17 coming on goal. Kallash led the Eagles with eight shots, seven shots on goal, five goals, and one assist. Jakobsen followed with six shots on goal, four goals, and three assists. Cantero and Kallash each recorded an assist as well.

It has been a historic week for Kallash, as the Troy, Mo. native became the program's all-time leading goal scorer, passing teammate Judith Sainz (71) for most all-time. Kallash now has 77 career goals in 72 games. She also becomes the program's career leader in assists, collecting 33 total during her four-year playing career.

The Eagles head into the Heart conference tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and will host in the opening round beginning on April 3, 2021.

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