Fayette, Mo - An explosive second half of play solidified No. 8 Central's win over fellow Heart foe Evangel, 6-0, Wednesday night at Davis Field.
CMU improves to 8-2-1 overall and 4-0-1 in Heart play. The Valor drop to 3-8-0 overall and 0-5-0 in conference action.
Evangel showed their defensive efforts as the match began, holding Central scoreless for the first 20 minutes of play. However, Central continued to press Evangel's defense, firing off five shots in 10 minutes.
The Eagle's offense broke the deadlock in the 20th minute with a goal from a free kick delivered by senior defender Laura Riesenbeck. Central ended the half with a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles came out of the break with high offensive energy, scoring their second goal in the 46th minute from Jade Perrin and the assist from Riesenbeck. Less than five minutes later, Roneisha Frank scored unassisted to extend Central's lead to 3-0.
The Eagle's offensive effort did not slow, as Central tallied seven more shots by the 63rd minute. Shortly after entering the match, freshman midfielder Kaia Randklev scored Central's fourth goal unassisted in the 66th minute. The score marked Randklev's first career goal as an Eagle.
Central's next scoring opportunity occured in the 70th minute of play on a foul in the box. Riesenbeck converted the penalty kick to push Central's lead to 5-0. Senior midfielder Alexis Ashmore lended CMU their sixth and final goal in the 79th minute on an assist from Manuela Polachini.
Riesenbeck led the tallying five shots including three on goal and a brace. Sandra Jakobsen and Celine Witt each contributed three shots. Overall, CMU fired off a total of 27 shots with 16 on goal.
Central's defense held the Valor to just a single shot that came in the closing minutes. Junior goalkeeper Judit Gonzalez Oliveras completed 73 minutes of play between the posts, earning her 8th win of 2022. Max De Armas Colombo played the final 18 minutes.
The Eagles will next travel to Des Moines, Iowa Saturday, Oct. 1 for another Heart match-up againt Grand View at 3:30pm.
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