Second half tallies push War Hawks past Eagles, 4-0

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – McMurry Women's Soccer continued its recent hot streak with a quartet of second half goals, as the War Hawks handled Ozarks with a 4-0 shutout in American Southwest Conference action Thursday afternoon.

The War Hawks (7-2-2, 2-0-2 ASC) are now

undefeated in their last eight games with six wins and two draws. McMurry is also one of three teams without a conference loss so far, joining Concordia Texas and Hardin-Simmons.

Ozarks falls to 2-7-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the conference.

Following her ASC Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday, sophomore goalkeeper Cortlynn Boone recorded her third straight shutout. She went the distance and recorded three saves, while smothering back-to-back corner kicks in the second half.

All of McMurry goals came in the latter frame, starting with sophomore Makayla Pearson's first career goal in the 55th minute. She was assisted by senior Ashland Hansen, who now ranks third on the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9).

Ashland's twin sister, senior Tagan Hansen, made it 2-0 by finishing off a corner kick from fellow senior Meriah Sikora with under 20:00 remaining. Sikora is currently tied for the conference lead with six assists, including four assists in just four conference games.

The War Hawks sealed the deal with a pair of scores in the closing moments, including a goal in the 79th minute on another corner kick. Sophomore Kylee Smith received the corner and flicked it to classmate McKenna Standifer, who charged in for the powerful finish. The final goal came moments after on a penalty kick by Ashland Hansen.

The first half was fairly close with McMurry holding a slight advantage in shots at 6-4. The second half was a completely different story, as the War Hawks dominated possession and limited Ozarks to just two second half tries. McMurry had 14 shots on the day with nine on target.

Both Hansen twins, Sikora, Kate Holland, Emily Holland and Ashlyn Pozorski tallied two shots each, while Standifer and Pearson had one each – both going for goals.

McMurry will close its short road swing back in its home state at UT Dallas this Saturday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.