BETHANY, Okla. — With conference play near, Southern Nazarene was able to squeeze one more nonconference matchup into their schedule, hosting Central Christian College Thursday night, where they defeated the Tigers 7-2.
The Storm (3-2, 0-0 GAC) were an offensive powerhouse, dishing out 32 shots and 21 shots on goal that evening, while the Tigers (1-2, 0-0 SAC) struggled with only nine shots and five shots on goal throughout the match.
Freshman Josie Van Pelt started the frenzy with a goal scored just two minutes into the match, courtesy of a pass by Kenzie Macklin to put the Storm up 1-0.
Seconds later, Lauren Force found an open Macklin for SNU's second goal, cruising to an early 2-0 start.
Van Pelt raced up the field in the 11th minute for an easy shot to the back of the net, tallying her second score and SNU's third of the match. Recent "GAC Player of the Week" Fallon Weatherford attacked the Tigers' defense at the 25th minute, raising the score to 4-0.
Van Pelt never stepped on the breaks, moving through the Tigers' defense to score once again, making that her third goal of the contest and her first hat trick of the season. Van Pelt's score would bump the Storm's lead to 5-0 with a little over 15 minutes remaining in the first half.
Shots continued to fly, but the Crimson Storm couldn't get another goal to land, heading into halftime up 5-0.
20 minutes into the second half, Cameryn Peter punched one in for SNU, giving the Storm the 6-0 advantage.
CCC continued to fight, sneaking the ball past the Storm defense to earn their first goal of the match. The Tigers found an opening once more in the 85th minute, landing their second score of the match, now trailing the Storm by four with just under five minutes remaining in the contest.
As the final seconds ticked down, Lauren Force found a gap to score right at the buzzer, giving SNU the 7-2 finish over Central Christian.
Van Pelt was the talk of the night, scoring three goals against the Tigers to go along with seven shots and five shots on goal.
Macklin found herself all over the stat sheet as she finished with five shots, four shots on goal, one goal, and one assist. Force also had an impressive stat line, finishing with two shots on goal, one goal, and one assist.
Weatherford added five shots, two shots on goal, and one goal while Peter finished with two shots on goal and one goal.
SNU will begin conference play next week as they will host East Central Friday, September 16th with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
