MONTGOMERY, Ill. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (3-2) secured a decisive 16–10 victory over Aurora University (2-6) on Saturday at Spartan Athletic Park. The Blugolds' offense was powered by three player-up goals, contributing to their seven-goal second-quarter surge.
The game commenced with UW-Eau Claire securing the first possession and quickly capitalizing as
Ellie Fisher scored the opening goal at 14:17. Aurora responded with Nicolina Smith equalizing at 11:48. UW-Eau Claire then regained the lead with a goal from
Reegan Werner at 8:11. Maintaining momentum,
Victoria Shea extended the Blugolds' advantage with a player-up goal at 4:15. Ava Courtney of Aurora narrowed the gap with a player-up, free position goal at 2:38, concluding the quarter with a narrow 3–2 lead for UW-Eau Claire.
UWEC capitalized on early player-up opportunities, with
Paige Kiani scoring just 30 seconds into the second quarter from a free position shot. Werner followed quickly with two consecutive goals, extending their lead over Aurora.
Jess Stiller added another goal at 9:52, prompting a timeout from Aurora. Despite a brief response from Aurora with goals by Smith and Courtney, the Blugolds maintained control.
Addison Moudry and Fisher extended the lead with goals, with Kiani scoring again at the 1:30 mark, solidifying a dominant quarter for UW-Eau Claire, which ended with a 10–4 advantage.
Fisher initiated the scoring for UW-Eau Claire in the third quarter with a goal at 12:28, capitalizing on a ground ball pickup. Shea extended the lead to 12–4 with a goal assisted by Werner at 8:42.
Grace Buesgens then added another for UW-Eau Claire, assisted by
Brianna Scanlon, making it 13–4. Aurora responded with a series of goals, starting with Courtney's player-up goal at 5:38 and followed by Smith and Julie Sass, narrowing the gap to 13–8. Kiani closed the quarter's scoring for UW-Eau Claire with a goal at 00:57, bringing the score to 14–8 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Smith scored for Aurora at 11:49, narrowing the gap. UW-Eau Claire quickly responded with a goal by Moudry at 11:00, assisted by Stiller, maintaining the lead. Despite a series of turnovers, Aurora's Amelia Bell scored with an assist from Eva Taute at 2:39, but Kiani secured a final goal for UW-Eau Claire at 00:58. Both teams added two goals each in the quarter, ending with UW-Eau Claire leading 16–10.
Werner led the offense with three goals and an assist, converting on three of her five shots. Kiani added four goals, including a successful free position shot, while making five of her six shots on goal. Fisher contributed three goals, one of which was the game-winner, and recorded four shots on goal. Shea rounded out the top performers with two goals and an assist, achieving a perfect shooting percentage by scoring on both of her attempts.
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