Offense galore as UHSP whips Blackburn

CARLINVILLE, IL – In their first road game of the young season, it turned out to be total domination by the Eutectics. UHSP visited Blackburn College and came away with a 4-0 decision that statistically was more lopsided than the final score may have indicated.

Alexa Hildebrand was the first of four different goal scorers for the Purple and Gold as she broke a scoreless tie in the 16^th minute. Hildebrand put one past Beavers starting keeper Mailee Shoen from just outside the box, scoring in the left side of the net. Just over four minutes later, Kayla Mantia was called for a foul resulting in a free kick for UHSP's Hannah Tyree. Positioned over the ball from about 25-feet away, Tyree put a strike on net that hit the hands of Shoen, but went through her hands and ended up bottom right of goal for a 2-0 lead. With still 25-minutes left in the first half, the Eutectics were not done offensively. Sarah Agnew delivered a ball to the left wing to Allison Hennessy who was able to find the back of the net for a commanding 3-0 lead in the 26^th minute. Meanwhile at the other end of the pitch, UHSP was debuting a new goalkeeper in net. With starting netminder Daniela Nether dealing with an injury, Lauren Harding was called on to man the pipes for the Eutectics. It turned out to be a quiet night for Harding, which may have been just fine for UHSP Head Coach Jack Jamieson. After being outscored 7-2 through their first two games and outshot 40-28, Harding's evening turned out to be a walk in the park. The UHSP defense in front of Harding never wilted throughout the night and the Beavers never recorded a single shot in the contest.

Agnew capped the scoring for the visitors in the 72^nd minute for a 4-0 lead on a night the Eutectics unleashed 24 shots including nine on goal. After a couple of tough offensive games to start the season for UHSP, this game was just the kind of contest they needed. The Eutectics had the Beaver defense on their heels all day, recording 11 corner kicks without surrendering any to Blackburn. Midway through the second half with the contest well in hand, Susan Bradford replaced Harding in goal for the Purple and Gold and played a flawless final 26-minutes. Shoen ended up making five saves on the day for BC. UHSP is now 3-1 all-time against the Blackburn Beavers.

UHSP notches their first win of the season improving to 1-2 and are back on the road following the weekend. The Eutectics visit Principia College for a 6:00p kickoff on Tuesday. Following that, it is a three-game homestand for UHSP starting Sunday, Sept. 15 against Indiana-Columbus.