TIFFIN -- It was a senior day for the memory banks for six Heidelberg University women's soccer seniors as the team ran rampant on Mount Union with a 5-2 win at a sloppy, soggy Hidden Valley Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Prior to kickoff, Heidelberg (6-9-1, 2-5 OAC) honored the contributions of seniors
McKenzie Perry,
Madison Crow,
Kate Mundy,
Erica Campbell,
Anna Chalkley and
Amanda Sugrue, along with athletic training student Justine Mitchell. The seniors walked with the families as they were thanked for their time with the women's soccer program.
The Student Princes used a dominating first half of play to essentially seal off the game, as they garnered a 4-0 lead by halftime.
In just the 11th minute, Sugrue put an exclamation point on senior day as she took a one-time shot off a feed from
Audrey Kaufman that skipped just in front of Mount Union's (5-8-2, 1-5-1) starting goalkeeper Sarah Taranto. The ball squirted up into Taranto's chest and over her head before falling into the back of the net.
The second tally came from Campbell's first of the match in the 22nd minute. The team's leading scorer picked up a loose ball near midfield and dribbled all the way to the box before she found the far corner, beating Taranto.
The third for Heidelberg came in the 35th as
Lydia Gates forced home her first career collegiate goal. Gates waited on the back post as the ball was bundled around the six-yard box before pouncing on a failed Mount Union clearance to thrust the ball over the line.
Just before the break, the Student Princes grabbed their fourth, and Campbell's second of the game.
Victoria Perez intercepted the ball and in one touch sent the ball over the top where Campbell took a settling touch and drilled it into the upper left corner of the goal. The goal sent her into double-figures for the season, marking the third consecutive season she has done so.
Out of the intermission, the game cooled off as both couldn't find the net until the 80th minute. Mount Union got on the score sheet as Keeley Malone picked off a pass from Perry. The midfielder took a deep shot that caught goalkeeper
Meredith Bruce slipping on the muddy surface and nestled into the bottom corner.
Just three minutes later, however, Kaufman iced the game with a finish from inside the box.
Madison Zimmerman and
Madison Crow combined in the corner, before Crow slid the ball to a darting Kaufman who touched past a defender and calmly slotted home her seventh goal of the season.
The scoring for the day was finished with just 22 seconds remaining as Brittany McCauley forced a shot over the line for Mount Union.
Kate Mundy attempted to clear off the line, but the wet surface made life difficult for the defender.
In all, Bruce stopped four shots that were sent her way, while
Anna Chalkley was credited with a save on the goal line. Taranto and reserve keeper Skyelar Mantz combined for eight saves out of the 13 shots on goal, they faced.
The win marked the second straight year Heidelberg has won on senior day in emphatic fashion. Last season, in very similar conditions, the Student Princes beat Muskingum 6-0.
Heidelberg will have one more home game as John Carroll comes to Tiffin on Wednesday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.