Senior forward Page Miller got the scoring under way in the sixth minute when she took a pass from senior defender Kelly Sgambellone (left) and scored for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Miller’s fifth of the season and the 26th of her career, while Sgambellone notched her fourth assist of the year.

In the 16th minute, junior midfielder Nikki Bruscino added a goal of her own - her third of the season - to increase the lead to 2-0.

Less than two minutes later, the lead grew to 3-0 when senior midfielder Erin Miller found the back of the net on a direct kick from just outside the box. The goal was her fourth of the season.

A minute and a half later, the Lady Cougars (10-6-1, 8-3-1 AMC) took a 4-0 lead when Sgambellone was fouled the in box. She converted the ensuing penalty kick for her first goal of the year and the 16th of her career as she moved into eighth place on the school’s career list.

The lead ballooned to 5-0 in the 26th minute when freshman forward Sarah Buehler took a pass from sophomore forward Jessica Estep and scored her second goal of the year. The assist was Estep’s sixth of the season.

Neither team scored again until the 58th minute when Estep took a pass from freshman midfielder Courtney Ricker and scored on a sliding shot past the Malone goalie Merisa Salazar for a 6-0 lead. The goal was Estep’s team-leading 16th of the season and the 38th of her career.

With just over five minutes remaining in the match, freshman forward Camille Smith scored her second goal of the year off an assist from freshman midfielder Lindsey Shaffer to wrap up the scoring in the 7-0 victory.

MVNU held a 23-5 advantage in total shots, a 15-3 margin in shots on goal, and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks. Sophomore goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen and freshman goalkeeper Courtney Ball combined to stop three shots in posting the Lady Cougars’ seventh shutout of the year. Meanwhile, Salazar posted eight saves for the Pioneers (5-9-1, 5-7-1 AMC).

“This was probably our most complete match from an attacking standpoint,” said MVNU coach Jonathan Meade as the Lady Cougars had the second-most number of different players score in the same match trailing just the record-setting 13-0 win over Medger Evers (N.Y.) College in 2003 when 10 different players scored. “We did an excellent job and came right out from the start and within the first five minutes had already begun to impress our will on them. We started to create some scoring opportunities and once we got the first goal we did not let up. Overall, this was our best scoring output of the season. We were very creative and we had a lot of players moving and making smart decisions with the ball.”

“We have talked a lot about trying to play an entire 90 minutes of good soccer,” Meade added. “I was really proud of the players doing that today. Defensively, getting the shutout was also important. We were able to limit their shots and we took Aleesha Denmeade, who came in with 14 goals, and did not allow her anything easy. All in all, this was a nice win and hopefully it will give us momentum as we close out the regular season on Saturday and look forward to the playoffs.”

MVNU will host Walsh University on Saturday in AMC action that will get under way at 1:00 p.m. The Lady Cougars’ three seniors will be honored at halftime of the regular-season finale. While the win over Malone clinched a berth in the AMC Tournament for MVNU, a win over the Lady Cavaliers on Saturday would give the Lady Cougars a first-round home match as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. The AMC Tournament will get under way on November 8.