The No. 9-ranked Raven Women's Soccer team scored their first goal during the seventh minute of play on Saturday and never looked back as they earned their 14th shutout of the season in the 2014 NAIA Women's Soccer National Tournament Opening Round.
Benedictine (19-1-0) advanced to Orange Beach, Ala., and the Round of the 16 with a 4-0 win over Concordia (Neb.) University (15-3-4).
"We wanted to get a goal early and we got that," said Raven head coach Lincoln Roblee. "But we wanted to make sure that we didn't just sit back because we didn't want just a 1-0 win. We just kept going and going."
The Ravens struck first during the seventh minute when Jordan Francescon netted an unassisted goal.
Benedictine added to their lead during the 27th minute when Bridget Brotherton cleaned up a loose ball just outside the box and sent a shot streaking past Concordia keeper Chrissy Lind.
The first-half scoring wasn't done yet for the Ravens and Francescon added her second goal of the game during the 35th minute off an assist from Ashley Chandler.
Benedictine finished the first half with a 13-1 advantage in shots.
Defensively, Concordia tallied four saves in the first half to hold Benedictine to just three goals.
In the second half, the Ravens continued to attack but couldn't add to their lead until the 86th minute.
Maggie Hair finished off the Ravens scoring when she converted a goal off a pass from Bethany Smith.
"It's a domino effect," Smith said. "Once we get one (goal) in, our confidence shoots up and we are just ready to get some more in there too."
Defensively, the Ravens limited the Bulldogs offense. Concordia entered the match averaging 8.5 shots per game and 1.8 shots on goal.
Benedictine finished the match with a 29-5 advantage in shots and a 17-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Raven keeper Ashley Holland earned her 12th shutout of the season recording one save over 90 minutes of action.
Benedictine advances to take on Spring Arbor (Mich.) on Monday, Dec. 1 in Orange Beach, Ala. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CST). Spring Arbor, the No. 8 seed in the tournament, advances to the Round of 16 with a 2-0 win over AIB (Iowa).
