Neither team was able to score for the first 25 minutes of the match as MVNU (7-3-1) held the advantage in possession, but the visiting Eagles (4-7-0) tried to down their second straight American Mideast Conference South Division opponent after posting a 3-0 victory at Shawnee State University on Friday.

However, in the 26th minute, senior forward Kristy Brandolini gave the Lady Cougars a 1-0 lead when she beat three defenders and then found the back of the net for her sixth goal of the season.

With time winding down in the first half, junior midfielder Page Miller (left) gained possession of the ball in front of the goal and scored with 22.2 seconds left before the break to give MVNU a 2-0 halftime lead.

The match stayed close through the first 12 minutes of the second half. Then, in the 57th minute, freshman forward Jessica Estep took a pass from Brandolini and beat Asbury goalie Maegan Rogers for a 3-0 lead as Estep notched her team-leading eighth goal of the year.

Three minutes later, the lead grew to 4-0 when Page Miller scored her second goal of the match and her fifth of the season off a cross from sophomore defender Nikki Bruscino.

Sophomore midfielder Erin Miller (right) got into the scoring act in the 74th minute when she found the back of the net off a corner kick by freshman midfielder Bekah Blankenship that was touched to her by freshman midfielder Challyn Dobson as the Lady Cougars took a 5-0 advantage. The goal was the second of the year for Erin Miller.

Then, in the 82nd minute, Dobson closed out the scoring in the 6-0 victory as she ripped a shot into the net off a cross from junior forward Beth Watkins for her second goal of the season.

Freshman Jenessa Loewen, senior Melissa Peters, and sophomore Whitney Tatko each combined to stop two shots in goal as MVNU posted its fourth shutout of the year. Rogers posted nine saves for the Eagles. The Lady Cougars out-shot Asbury 28-6 with a 15-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.

“We are happy with the win and it is always nice to score six goals,” said MVNU head coach Jonathan Meade. “However, we can play sharper. We need to not try to compare ourselves to the teams that we are playing but to come out and play to the standard that we have set for ourselves. That’s the challenge.”

“I was disappointed with the way that we started the second half,” Meade added. “Then, our reserves came in and provided the spark that got us going. Once we scored the first goal of the second half, then we started to play a lot better soccer.”

MVNU will return to action on Wednesday night when the Lady Cougars will travel to Notre Dame College for a non-conference match at Brush High School that will kick off at 7:00 p.m.