It was one for the record books Sept. 24 in Canton, Mo., as the Baker women’s soccer team did the unthinkable.

The women demolished Culver-Stockton College 16-0, setting a school record for most goals scored in a single game and sending the Culver-Stockton Wildcats home with their worst loss in school history. Head coach Nate Houser said it was not Baker’s intention to tack on goals to embarrass Culver-Stockton but rather to continue to play and avoid stalling with possession of the ball.

“As much as I never wanted to be that guy, it’s the job of our ladies that don’t start the game to win a job, and I don’t want to take that competitive edge out of them,” Houser said.

Houser said Culver-Stockton lost 16 players from last year’s squad, five of them to graduation, and the rest to a $4,500 raise in school tuition.

“We finished chances; we did what we had to do,” he said. “It was a mixture of both us having some quality and them starting all over again.”

Ten Baker players scored goals in the match, four of who enjoyed a multiple-goal game. Sophomore Christine Janssens and freshman Alix Schiraldi led the team with three goals apiece in the Heart of America Athletic Conference opener.

“It’s just amazing in itself that we have a lot of people who can score goals,” Janssens said of the team’s offensive effort.

Schiraldi, who is in her rookie season with the ‘Cats, said her offensive performance was the first time in her collegiate career she has ever scored three goals in a single game.

“It was my first college game scoring three (goals), so I was pretty excited about it,” she said. “Being a freshman, I knew I had to prove something. It was pretty awesome.”

With the Baker starting lineup only playing a total of about 25 minutes, Houser said it provided many opportunities for younger players to gain experience and confidence.

“As far as we’re concerned, I think we got a chance to work on some things we normally wouldn’t work on,” Houser said. “It was a chance for some of our girls to have success and the younger girls to get playing time and experience at the varsity level.”

Besides the 16 scored goals, the ‘Cats shared 10 assists as a team and defensively shut Culver-Stockton down, allowing just one shot on goal. Houser said he thought the team played well and that it was an important road victory for the ‘Cats.

“It’s our first conference win,” he said. “We have to be in the top six in the conference to qualify for playoffs, and it was a step towards that.”