By Justin St. Peter

The ‘Hawks will have a large bulls eye painted on their back this season as they look to win the WIAC conference championship four years in a row. They are off to a fast start with a record 4-0-2 to start the season against non-conference opponents.

“We are really ready to play,” senior defender Laren Nashleanas said. “We understand that we have a big target on our back, and a lot of the conference teams are ready to beat us, but [we are] ready to play our game and get the win.”

On Sept. 11, the ‘Hawks dispatched Marian University with ease, winning 2-0.

Freshman forward Brianna Reid scored the first goal and assisted on the second goal to freshman forward Carolyn Nash. The ‘Hawks, anchored by Nashleanas, did not allow a shot on goal.

“Brianna Reed has done a great job at center forward,” said head coach Ryan Quamme. “She had an outstanding game for us.”

Against Wartburg on Sept. 15, the ‘Hawks dominated in what ended up being a 1-0 win in overtime. They outshot the Knights 12-2 in the first half and 24-10 in the game. Junior goalkeeper Jordan Myers recorded her third straight shutout, making six saves.

Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Fritsch rocketed a ball past the goalkeeper from 25 yards out to give the ‘Hawks the win in the seventh minute of overtime. To cap off their busy week, the ‘Hawks played against the North Central College Cardinals on the road the next day. They played to a 2-2 stalemate after two overtimes.

Freshman forward Carina Krausert scored in the 22nd minute off a pass from sophomore midfielder Jenna Woodson, who leads the team with four assists. Not even four minutes into the second half, freshman forward Carly Pottle scored off a Reid assist. The winless Cardinals tied it up in the 89th minute.

“We played well in situations late in the game,” junior midfielder Sarah Sedlar said. “We got better as a team, and it was good practice for down the road.”

Amazingly, the ‘Hawks have outscored their opponents in every game this season.

“We are creating more scoring opportunities and more goals than we did last year,” Quamme said. “We are very happy where we are offensively.”

Quamme purposely scheduled back-to-back games to test the team.

“We purposely do that because we wanted to put our girls in some difficult situations,” Quamme said. “I was proud of the girls for finding a way to win on Saturday. I thought they played great today [against North Central].”

Quamme is happy with the way the team responded to the non-conference schedule.

“We had challenges, which is what you really hope for coming into your conference season,” Quamme said. “I feel real good where we are going and good where we are at.”

The ‘Hawks WIAC opener will be on the road this Saturday, Sept. 21 against UW-River Falls at 3 p.m.