The Baker University women’s soccer team took the first step to a successful season defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State University 5-0 in its first game of the season.
“It’s always a confidence booster to win, especially the first game,” sophomore Mikayla Medlock said. “Losing always puts you down.”
Baker came out with a strong offensive attack and hard-nosed defense from the start. Only 19 minutes into the game, captain Sara Mathews scored the first goal of the season. Strong defensive play kept the score at 1-0 at the end of the first period, as injuries plagued NWOSU.
The second period was no longer a back and forth battle, but a one sided scoring frenzy. The first of four second period goals came just three minutes in, with Medlock getting a shot in from the corner that was tipped in by the Rangers’ goalkeeper.
“The ball rolled off the back of the goalie’s fingers and in,” Medlock said. “It wasn’t even really a shot, but a cross. Sometimes they just go in.”
The Wildcats were outworking the Rangers as they appeared to be better conditioned. Freshman Jennifer Sampson got past a defender and the goalie to score a wide-open goal with 25 minutes left. Six minutes later, Christine Janssens scored the fourth goal of the game. The icing on the cake was a hard takedown resulting in a Baker penalty kick with eight seconds left. Sophomore Kristen Steppe ended the game with a goal.
“It is nice to see that everyone is capable of scoring a goal,” head coach Nate Houser said. “This will pay off in October.”