Hawks dismantle Highway 81 foe on Thursday

COLUMBUS, Neb. – The Northeast Community College women's soccer team got back to its winning ways on Thursday night, topping Central Community College 6-1 in Columbus, Neb.

After taking a 2-0 lead at halftime, the Hawks (4-1) went on to score four goals to keep the Raiders from mounting any comeback.

Frida Aguilar-Ximello (Boulder, Colo.) set the tone for Northeast, scoring off an assist from Kahrena Thompson (Jamestown, Colo.) in the 30^th-minute. Freshman Naomi Pedroza (Hastings, Neb.) continued her dominant scoring streak by finding the back of the net in the 42^nd-minute.

Aguilar-Zimello assisted two more Hawks goals, the first coming in the 55^th-minute by Londyn Cacciacarne (Layton, Utah) and another by Lorry Romain (San Fernando, Trinidad).

Kyla Ryan (Seymour, Wis.) scored in the 83^rd-minute unassisted, before the Raiders squeaked a goal into their own net four minutes later. Finally, Thompson found the back of the net off an assist from Bree Saltzman (Vermillion, S.D.) in the 88^th-minute.

"In the second half is when we really found our game and maybe played some of the best soccer we have played all year," head coach Chad Miller said. "We moved the ball very well and were very patient looking for the right time to go forward. You could really see the confidence level rise and the team was running on all cylinders."

The Hawks return to the pitch at 6 p.m. Tuesday for their home opener against College of St. Mary JV at Veteran's Memorial Field in Norfolk.