UPLAND, Ind. – The No. 7 ranked Spring Arbor University women's soccer team remained perfect in the Crossroads League following a wild 6-4 triumph at Taylor University on Saturday night.
Senior Nikki Bonnema recorded her first career hat trick to help SAU rally back from two separate deficits and post its ninth consecutive victory. The win improved the Cougars to 13-2-1 overall and 7-0-0 in league play while the Trojans dropped to 7-8-1 with a 3-4-0 mark in the conference.
Spring Arbor not only clinched at least a share of their fifth consecutive regular season title with the win, but also secured the top seed for the conference tournament.
Taylor pounced on Spring Arbor early netting a pair of goals within the first 13 minutes of the match. The Cougars never panicked though, and would respond with two goals before halftime to even the score. Sophomore Aubrey Schierbeek scored the first goal in the 25th minute with a strike from 20 yards out while Bonnema knotted the game with a tally in the 34th minute.
Coming out of the intermission, the upset-minded Trojans would find the back of the net again in 59th minute to jump back in front. The lead was short-lived, however, as Schierbeek notched her second goal of the night less than a minute later.
Spring Arbor would grab its first lead following a goal by junior Corrie Good at the 62:15 mark, but the home team refused to go down without a fight. The Trojans found the equalizer in the 73rd minute with a goal by Nikki Zaino – her second of the night – off a corner kick.
However, with less than 10 minutes to play, Bonnema would register two goals just over a minute apart to seal the victory.
The Cougars accumulated 29 shots on the night – putting 20 on target – while limiting the Trojans to only eight total attempts.
Up next, Spring Arbor will host Indiana Wesleyan University (7-7-1, 3-3-1 CL) in its regular season home finale on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
SAU Athletics: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Women's Soccer: Twitter | Facebook
