TAHLEQUAH –
Sydney Taylor turned in Northeastern State's first hat trick since 2016 as they rocketed past Newman 4-0 at DeLoache Field Friday evening to close out non-conference play.
Taylor had the hat trick before the 30th minute and has landed five goals in the last 180 minutes. Julia Mathis was the most recent NSU player to accomplish the single-game feat on September 5, 2016 at Northwestern Oklahoma. Taylor is just the second MIAA student-athlete this fall to get a hat trick and 25th overall in NCAA Division II women's soccer.
The offense from Taylor started in the 15th minute when she converted on a penalty kick. She struck true for a second time in the 24th minute, assisted by
Olivia Kucharyski and
Josie Jarvis. A third make by Taylor coming off of a Newman yellow card in the 29th minute secured the hat trick. Kucharyski would go on to make it a four-score advantage, landing her first goal of her NSU career in the 67th minute.
On the night, NSU was the aggressor on the offensive end. As a team, their attempt total doubled that of the opposing Jets (20-10), while a season-high 12 were on goal. Meanwhile, the RiverHawk defense pitched their third shutout of the campaign, as goalkeeper
Rebecca Partyka got in front of all six of Newman's on-goal attempts.
The win is NSU's sixth straight by multiple goals against the Jets in Tahlequah. It boosts the RiverHawks to 2-2-3 at the conclusion of non-conference action, while the loss places the Jets at 1-5-1 with MIAA play starting Sunday.
The RiverHawks will be back in action to open the conference slate on Sunday against Central Oklahoma, kicking off at 1 p.m. at DeLoache Field.
