NATCHITOCHES—On a night for the seniors, the group of five Northwestern State seniors did not disappoint.
Paige Baumgartner broke the school record with five goals, as the Demons (2-5) smashed the school team record with 24 goals in a 24-1 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-4) on Thursday evening at the Demon Soccer Complex.
"We talked about making the day special beforehand," fourth-year head coach
Ian Brophy said, after winning his 32
nd game at NSU, tied for the third-most in program history. "We talked about wanting to win it for the seniors and play well. We did that tonight. I thought the finishing was really good, and every senior got on the scoresheet outside of our goalkeeper, Saki. Not much more you can ask and then you get the cherry on top with the record-setting night."
Seven players recorded multiple goals, led by Baumgartner's five, as the 24 goals break the Southland Conference record and fell just one goal shy of the NCAA record set by Mississippi Valley State, which scored 25 in a 25-0 romp over Alcorn State in 2006.
The previous Southland mark had been held for 22 years, a Sam Houston 23-goal outburst against Texas Southern in 2004.
"To break the school record is great," Baumgartner said. "Scoring 24 goals in a single game is an insane amount. Contributing to five of those goals was great for me and great for the team and it is a huge confidence boost for the team."
NSU shattered its previous school record of 15 goals, set in 1998 in a 15-2 win over then-Louisiana College.
In addition to the goals (24), assists (26) and points (74) records set Thursday, they also tied the school record with 54 shot attempts, tying the record set in 2017 against LSU-Shreveport.
To go along with Baumgartner's school record, seniors
Emily Gundin and
Riley Stern tied the school record with four assists on their Senior Night.
Stern's total brings her career assist total to 17, which is the fourth-best mark in program history and just one out of third. Gundin, on the other hand, has 11 career assists, moving just outside the top 10 in program history for career assists.
"I love to set my teammates up," Stern said. "I think it is so much more fun than going myself, and it is really fun to see their joy when they score. Being able to distribute in important moments like that is really fun."
The Demons put the pedal to the medal in the first half, breaking the school record of 15 goals with a 16-goal onslaught in half No. 1 to lead 16-1 at the break.
Baumgartner scored four goals in the first 15 minutes of action before taking a rest. Her final goal came in the 85
th minute to etch her name in the school record books alone at the top of the single game goal scoring list at NSU.
The Demons took a 2-0 lead in the first 7:06 before UAPB's Cali Cooper scored on a perfectly-placed shot for the Lady Lions' only goal of the evening.
Gundin wasted little time responding, scoring just 23 seconds later to put the Demons back up by two. It was one of a career-high four goals for the senior, who also tacked on four assists to finish off one of the best games in program history.
Ravina Sandhu found the back of the net twice for her first two goals of the season and freshman
Alexia Adimmah scored her first collegiate goal in the first half as well.
On Adimmah's goal, fellow freshman
Jaida Tucker recorded the assist.
Audrey Marfia had the start in net before
Sabrina McCarter saw her first action midway through the first half.
Saki Tsuchiya played the last half and tossed a zero.
In the second half, it was much of the same, as the Demons recorded 21 shot attempts to score eight goals.
After trying many times to help her score her first goal, defender
Emma Pethel found the back of the net for the first time as a collegiate in the 58
th minute to push the score to 17-1.
"I don't even know how to describe that feeling after scoring the goal," Pethel said. "I am so grateful for these teammates and this coaching staff that I was finally able to score one for myself. I couldn't have done it without everybody else on the field and it feels amazing."
Like Adimmah in the first half,
Tayla Crandell scored her first collegiate goal in the second half to make it 19-1.
Marissa Henderson also scored her first goal of the season.
Kendall Hemperley and
Tiana Cruz also scored two goals, as did Stern, who scored two to go along with her four assists.
Not to be outdone,
Kate Bouck and
Addi Lehnertz each had three assists with the latter recording her first career points.
Gundin led the team with 10 shot attempts, one of four with at least seven of them, joining Rollins (8), Pethel (8) and Baumgartner (7).
Next up is a well-earned week off before heading to Grambling on Sept. 17 for the final non-conference match before Southland play begins on Sept. 24 against Lamar.
