NEWBERG, Ore. --- The George Fox women's soccer team dominated from the start in their Northwest Conference opener, cruising to a 4-0 victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers Wednesday night at the Austin Sports Complex.

How It Happened 

The Bruins were the aggressors from the opening whistle and peppered the Pioneer goal from early in the match, although it took over 28 minutes to break through with a score. At the 20-minute mark, freshman forward Taylor Ho had a beautiful volley off a Willa Evans free kick that was parried outside the post on a fine save by Pio starting keeper Sophia Young. Five minutes later, Young bobbled a strong Maggie Phillips strike, barely managing to keep the ball from crossing the goal line. Finally, in the 29th minute, Amy Hatter's corner kick from the right was flicked centrally by Ho from the near post, where Evans buried it in the back of the net to break the scoring drought. The Bruins made it 2-0 in the 41st minute after an aggressive foul by Lewis & Clark's Ashlyn Little just outside the 18-yard box drew the referee's card. Phillips converted the resulting free kick and the Bruins had a dominant 15-0 edge in shots and 8-1 advantage in corner kicks at the halftime break. George Fox kept up the relentless attack in the second stanza, with Phillips tallying her second goal of the match off an assist by Madison Burch at the 54-minute mark. Maggie Choate capped the scoring with a long-distance delivery from well outside the 18-yard box, driving it home into the upper left quadrant. The Pios had a few opportunities in the Bruin box in the first half, but were not able to get a shot away until the 55th minute of play, with goalkeeper Bella Salazar easily gathering in a shot from long distance. The Bruins finished the match with a 20-2 edge in shots, putting 11 on frame.

Top Performers

Phillips, a transfer from the University of Oregon, scored her first two goals of the season and showed that she will be an offensive force to contend with in the NWC this season, pacing the Bruins with nine shots, including four on goal. Ho's early play this season portends a bright future, with superior ball skills and a knack for distributing the ball. Evans played a fine match, aggressively attacking from the midfield to score her first goal of the season, while nearly setting up another with a well-placed free kick.  

Coach's Thoughts

"The team knows that we are not an 0-4 competitor and the correct response to our last game is to train hard, learn, and move forward," explained head coach Laura Schott. "Our entire roster demonstrated that today against a good Lewis and Clark team."

What It Means

After a tough second half against College ofq Idaho in their final non-conference game, the Bruins were clearly ready for the counters, dominating the match from start to finish. The Bruins now sit 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the NWC.

Up Next

George Fox travels to Forest Grove Saturday for a noon tilt against the Pacific Boxers. Then, it's four consecutive home games beginning the following Saturday, Sep. 25 against Puget Sound.