On a brisk Tuesday night in Hiram, Ohio, the 10th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team defeated Hiram College 4-0. With the win, the Spartans (10-0-0) extended their winning streak to 10 matches to start the season. The Terriers dropped to 2-9-0 with the loss.
Senior midfielder Anika Washburn scored her team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the season, while senior forward Brianna Van Zanten notched her first two goals of the season to lead the Spartans past the Terriers. Washburn has now scored 28 goals over her career which is the second most by a Case Western Reserve player. She is just two shy of tying the program record of 30 held by former Spartan Sandra Oh.
CWRU scored first in the 10th minute to open a 1-0 lead. Senior defender Elizabeth White sent a ball off a free kick into the box, which senior midfielder Molly Whelan gathered and struck a shot that hit the crossbar. Washburn was able to clean up the miss and head the ball into the back of the net. The goal was Washburn's team-leading 11th on the season.
After neither team could score for the rest of the first half, the Spartans increased the lead in the 47th minute when first-year midfielder Sydney Schenk dribbled down the left side of the pitch and sent a cross to the middle of the box at the feet of Washburn, who sent the ball into the back of the net. It was Washburn's second goal of the game and 12th on the season, while the assist was Schenk's team-leading seventh of the season.
CWRU added to their lead in the 67th minute as Van Zanten sprinted down the field and laced a shot to the lower right side of the goal to increase the Spartan advantage to 3-0. The goal was Van Zanten's first of the season.
Case Western Reserve capped off the scoring in the 82nd minute as senior forward Ella Copich dribbled down the right side of the field and crossed the ball into the middle of the box. There to strike it past the Hiram goalkeeper was Van Zanten for her second goal of the game. For Copich, it was her second assist of the season.
The Spartans dominated possession throughout the match, keeping the ball on the Hiram side of the field for most of the 90 minutes. CWRU outshot the Terries 30-2 and registered 16 shots on goal to the Terriers' two.
Sophomore Maggie Storti led the Spartan defense, collecting her 10th win (10-0-0) and her fifth clean sheet of the season with two saves during the match. Starting defenders for Case Western Reserve were White, junior Laura Gorjanc, senior Kat Rebele, and junior Merry Meyer.
CWRU has now won 23-straight non-conference regular season matches and has gone undefeated in its last 24 non-conference matches including NCAA tournament play.
The Spartans resume conference play when the team travels to Waltham, Massachusetts for a match against 25th-ranked Brandeis University (5-2-2, 0-1-0 UAA) on Saturday, October 9. The match will kick off at 11:00 a.m.