The Washburn University Lady Blues soccer team had an impressive showing during the past week, securing wins against Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State.

The week for the Lady Blues began in Emporia, where the Blues ended the game with a 2-0 thrashing of ESU in typical Washburn form. The game featured Kaydi Hooker scoring her first career goal, which came in the form of a rocket to the right corner of the Emporia State net on an assist from Jessica Mainz in the 13th minute. The second half remained scoreless until the 86th minute, when Mainz connected with Lauren Henry, for the second goal of the contest to secure the Washburn win.

“This is definitely a rival game,” said Hooker. “Coach doesn’t necessarily hype games against Emporia more than any other, but us as players know that there is no way we can allow them to beat us.”

The win against the Hornets not only furthered the Lady Blues 2008-09 campaign, but made a few marks on the Washburn University history books in the process. Mainz’s two assists gave her a school best 19 assists, ,which now ranks sixth overall in the MIAA. The two assists also gave her 113 career points, putting her in third place for all time in the MIAA.

The win itself was also a milestone for Washburn because it signified the school’s seventh straight win against Emporia State. In fact, the last time the Blues lost to ESU was Nov. 7, 2004 in Topeka. The series between WU and ESU now stands at 7-3-1.

The school record for the most games played, previously owned by Amanda Geist with 77, was also shattered Tuesday, but not by one or even two Lady Blues. Instead, Mainz, Hooker and Lisa Fahey all surpassed the mark by playing in 78 games.

The week ended on an equally successful note for the Blues, who earned another critical win Saturday, this time against Northwest Missouri State. The win against the Bearcats brought their overall record to 10-5-1 and 6-4-0 in MIAA.

In the first half, the Lady Blues got off to a slow start and ended up being outshot by the opposition 11-7, ending the half tied at 0. In the second half, the Lady Blues somehow found their resolve and outshot the Bearcats 15-5.

The shooting assault on NWMSU led to a second half strike from Taylor, which put the Lady Blues ahead by one. The goal came at the 54:30 mark on an assist from Jordan Shefte, and was an accurately placed shot to the right corner of the net.

Among the many accomplishments of the Lady Blues this season, one especially bright spot for the Washburn soccer team this season has been from goalkeeper Jenny Persons. She had eight saves against NWMSU, and since playing this season has an impressive 6-0-0 record in the net for the Blues.

The win against the Bearcats on Saturday night gave the Blues a 6-game winning streak – a school record – and landed them into a tie for first place with the 2006 MIAA championship team.

“We are on a roll right now and we feel good about it, but every team in our conference is good,” said Hooker. “We can’t overlook any team, we have to stay focused and play one game at a time, if we hope to win.”

The Lady Blues look to continue their dominance in conference play when they take on Nebraska-Omaha at 4 p.m. Thursday at Omaha.