MINNEAPOLIS - The Martin Luther College women's soccer team used a dominant first half performance to defeat North Central University (NCU) 4-2 on Wednesday.

The Knights scored four times in the opening half, with Tabitha Vannieuwenhoven starting the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 14th minute to give MLC a 1-0 lead.

They would ride the momentum of that early score, as Lilianne Zimpelmann, Kaitlin Butler and Nicole Porter each added goals later in the half to push the Knights' lead to 4-0 at the break.

The Rams made a push early in the second half, scoring in the 51st and 56th minutes to cut the lead in half, but MLC held strong down the stretch and kept its two-goal lead until the final buzzer.

Porter assisted on two goals in the first half, while Lydia Krenke added the helper on Porter's goal late in the half.

MLC out-shot the Rams 33-25 for the game, and was credited with 23 shots on goal overall. 

Keeper Grace Sievert stopped 13 NCU shots in goal for the Knights.

MLC improved to 5-11-1 on the season and 4-8-1 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 2-13-2 overall and 1-10-2 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will close the 2021 season at Northwestern on Saturday, October 30, in a game scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m.