WOLFF PROVIDES NEEDED SPARK TO LIFT DRAGONS PAST LARKS

HutchCC Sports Information

HESSTON – As a frustrating night was growing more so for the No. 16-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's soccer team, the Blue Dragons were looking for a spark.

Blue Dragon freshman Ariel Wolff proved to be that spark against the Hesston Larks in a Region VI battle at the Hesston Soccer Field.

Battling through a scoreless tie into the 75th minute, Wolff made a strong defensive play and instantly turned it into an offensive threat to score the first goal of the match with 15:29 to play in the second half. The flood gates opened after that and the Blue Dragons remained unbeaten with a 4-0 victory over the Larks.

The Blue Dragons improve to 10-0 overall and are 7-0 in Region VI games. Hesston falls to 7-6 and 2-6 in the region. Hutch sweeps the season series with the Larks.

Hutchinson remains on the road and will play at Barton in a 3 p.m. match on Wednesday in Great Bend.

Hutchinson fired 21 shots in the first half, getting 10 through on goal as Hesston played primarily a defensive match. The Blue Dragons went into a strong southerly breeze in the second half and still maintained a stronghold with ball possession.

After a Hesston second-half throw-in just into the Blue Dragons' half of the field, the Larks tried to advance the ball up the right sideline. Wolff stepped up defensively, intercepted the pass and immediately fed it to teammate Megan Maslak. Wolff immediately sprinted up the sideline and Maslak fed her with a perfect pass to let her split two Hesston defenders and ultimately beat Larks' goalkeeper Miranda Dolsman to her left for the game's first goal with 15:29 to play in regulation.

From that point, the Blue Dragons exploded.

Just 1 minute, 11 seconds later, Maslak scored on a Kaitlyn Sabala assist. Then in the 81st minute, Brailey Moeder rocketed a shot off the post that found Sheena Nichol, who scored a goal in her fifth-straight game to give Hutch a 3-0 lead. Then with 2 1/2 minutes to play, Moeder out-fought a pair of Hesston defenders for a loose ball in the box to score an unassisted goal.

Hutchinson out-shot Hesston 29-6.

Maslak and Moeder had three-point games with a goal and an assist each.

Blue Dragon freshman goalkeeper Clara Burgmuller (5-0) posted her fifth-straight shutout and gave Hutchinson its ninth shutout in 10 games this season. Burgmuller made just one save.

Vivi Rodriguez played the first half in goal for Hesston and made 10 saves. Dolsman, who took the loss for the Larks, had one save and gave up four goals.

MATCH NOTES – Brailey Moeder has at least one point in 9 of 10 games this season. … The Blue Dragons won their ninth-straight game against Hesston and own a 13-1 all-time record against the Larks. Ten of those wins against Hesston have been by shutout.