Northcutt’s Stunner Leads Jackets to 3-0 Win Over Ursuline

by Grace Mowery

Coming off a dramatic 5-2 win against Tiffin, the Cedarville Lady Jackets defeated the Ursuline College Arrows 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in front of a homecoming crowd. Cedarville is now 5-3-1 overall with a promising 5-1-0 record in the G-MAC which has them sitting at third in the conference.

Both teams had a quiet first half, although Cedarville played solid defense, led by senior Mackenzie Northcutt, and pressured Ursuline throughout the half. Cedarville came up with five shots in the first ten minutes of the game, but Ursuline’s defense held.

Freshman forward Aleah Martone attempted a goal in the 12th minute, but again, the Ursuline goalie thwarted her attempts. In the 17th minute, Martone came close again, but she overran and couldn’t find a good angle for her shot. 

Two minutes later, Ursuline broke through Cedarville’s strong defense and attempted a shot, but the ball sailed over the goal.

The Cedarville offense continued to keep the Arrows on their toes. Addie Erslan and Carlie Stutzman both attempted shots, but both sailed over the goal.

The sunny skies turned cloudy, and a heavy rain drenched the field during halftime and intermittently soaked the players early in the second half. Still the Jackets didn’t let the conditions hurt their play.

Head coach Jonathan Meade explained, “We came out of the gate pretty well with a lot of good possession. We just needed to clean things up.” 

The Jackets made important halftime adjustments, and their offensive pressure finally paid off.

They responded to early but ineffective offensive pressure from Ursuline with a goal in the 55th minute. After the Jackets threw in the ball, Ursuline deflected it away from the goal to a waiting Northcutt who sent a rocket past the Ursuline goalkeeper from nearly 40 yards out.

Four minutes later, Ursuline attempted to score, but sophomore goalie Brooke Ackley caught the slow roller. She didn’t see much action after that.

With twenty-three minutes left in the game, Mary Kate Wyer assisted Jada Hensley’s goal, a long kick from the right into the center of the goal.

In the 89th minute, Erslan added to Cedarville’s total with a goal from the left, cementing their win.

Erslan, who entered the game in the last five minutes, said, “Our team motto is that the people coming off the bench are supposed to be game changers, and I just went in with intensity, knowing that we needed energy off the bench.”

On Thursday, Oct.7, Cedarville travels to Lake Erie to face more conference competition. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.