WAUKEGAN, Ill./MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary College soccer team clinched its winningest season in recent history with a pair of wins over Robert Morris University-Lake County and RMU-Peoria this week.
The Blue Angels kicked off the week with a Tuesday road trip to Waukegan, Ill. to take on the RMU-Lake County squad which Mount Mary had beaten 9-0 in both teams' season opener. With another barrage of shots from Mount Mary's potent offensive players, the Blue Angels emerged again with a resounding 7-0 win.
Junior Emily Ristow (Sheboygan, Wis.) scored four goals to lead the attack for Mount Mary, while senior Rasika Perera (Oak Creek, Wis.) added three.
"Not a bad effort for our first true road game of the year," head coach Joe Shokatz said. "It took us a while to get used to the environment, a very fast turf field and a very strong constant wind made playing conditions tricky—we had four throw-ins at midfield that Sophie (DeRosier) threw out for goal kicks."
While the offense put up seven goals in the game, Shokatz praised his team's efforts on the defensive side of the ball as well, only giving up two shots all game.
"I thought our defense was solid," Shokatz said. "We came out with more focus than our last game, and I really think that the players are starting to understand how I want to play the game. We had some very good practices in the last week with Sarah McVey really showing tremendous improvement. We have really started to come together as a team, feed off each other and have a good idea of what each person is capable of."
Mount Mary kept up its winning ways Friday afternoon, as it welcomed another Robert Morris satellite, Peoria, to Milwaukee. And much like its Lake County affiliate, Peoria ran into a Mount Mary buzzsaw that saw 26 shots and five goals scored as the Blue Angels scored its second victory of the week, 5-0.
Ristow again led the way with a hat-trick-plus-one, scoring her second straight four-goal game of the week. Perera added the other goal for Mount Mary, while also picking up an assist.
Senior Kirby McMahon (Grayslake, Ill.) pitched two shutouts in goal, stopping one shot on goal from Peoria in the first half. Junior Nina Her (Milwaukee, Wis.) played the second half in goal against RMU-P, picking up two saves in 45 minutes.
Mount Mary will next have its first overnight trip of the year as it travels to central Michigan to take on Andrews University Friday afternoon and Grace Bible College in a Saturday matinee.
