NAMPA — An early goal in soccer often makes a big difference in a game's outcome.
Jill Jensen's goal eight minutes into the Saints game against Northwest Nazarene did just that, sparking St. Martin's 5-0 defeat of the Crusaders in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer.
“I think it really changes it,” NNU coach Jamie Lindvall said. “The team to score first generally is going to win the game, that's just the way stats go usually.”
The fast start helped St. Martin's erase the memory of a 3-2 overtime loss Thursday at Montana State-Billings, despite the Saints (4-6-1 overall, 2-2-1 GNAC) holding a 2-0 edge.
“I think any time you can get early goals, early goals are better than late goals sometimes,” Saints coach Rob Walker said.
St. Martin's didn't stop with one, though, as Kayci Donatelli scored in the 25th minute, and with 12 minutes to halftime Jensen netted her second of three on the day.
“We took advantage of their high line a couple times and got in behind them,” Walker said. “I thought that was the difference.”
That, and another early goal in the second half as the Crusaders (1-10-1, 0-4) tried to rally.
“I felt like we moved the ball much better in the second half but we dug ourselves a hole in the first half,” Lindvall said.
Jensen's third, after a bad bounce for NNU's defense, made it 4-0 in the 51st minute, then Ashley Biral added goal in the 78th minute.
Meanwhile, NNU just couldn't find the mark as both teams fired 14 shots at the net, but it wasn't until the 61st minute on a chance by
Hannah Mohs from 35 yards out that the Crusaders had their first shot on goal.
“I could say it's unlucky, but that's just the way it goes sometimes,” Lindvall said. “We're just on the wrong side of things for quite a few games this season.
“We're hoping to see things turn a little bit and really start capitalizing offensively,” he added. “We're doing our best to maintain our belief as a team because we've got some great players and we are a very good team. We're just not showing it statistically yet.”
