Mainz hat trick makes Griffons disappear

After Saturday’s football game, the crowd left Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl thinking the home team was done scoring for the day. However, fans who came back later that night got to see Washburn put another seven on the scoreboard.

The points were not the result of a fifth Washburn touchdown, but from the school record seven goals the Lady Blues soccer team scored in their win against Missouri Western.

After being shut out in a 1-0 loss at No. 15 Central Missouri just one day earlier, Washburn struggled to pull away at the start of the game, leading just 2-1 at halftime. But once the loss and the slow start was behind them, the team finished with five unanswered goals in a 7-1 rout.

“We were told to just forget about yesterday and come out and try to play better,” said midfielder Angela Wiseman.

The home crowd, which ranked second last year nationally in attendance, had plenty to cheer about as No. 9 Washburn improved to 4-3-1 and 2-1 in MIAA play. With chants of, “Ole, ole, ole, ole” coming from some of the 330 fans in attendance, the Lady Blues won at home for the first time in two tries this season. The team hopes that consistency on offense will help them start building a new winning streak as they leave home once again for a two game road trip at Truman State and Northwest Missouri.

“We just need to keep scoring,” said forward Manon Englehardt. “Hopefully we can just keep doing more of what we did in this game.”

Forward Jessica Mainz, who leads the team in shots and goals, hopes for the scoring to continue as well. After recording the school’s first ever hat trick a week ago at Emporia State, she worked her magic again against the Griffons by scoring three times in the second half.

Washburn’s two first half goals, scored by forward Danielle Ayala and midfielder Keeley Lambeth, came in the first 25 minutes of play. The rest of the team’s goals were scored in the last 25 minutes, as Englehardt and defender Lisa Fahey added to Mainz’s hat trick to contribute to the six-goal margin of victory. Goalkeeper Ashley Klone had another relatively easy game as Central Missouri shot only two times, compared to Washburn’s 29. The Lady Blues believe that their offensive outburst is proof that last game’s shutout is behind them.

“We came out and played with a fresh attitude today,” said Wiseman. “We’re ready to go again.”