RIVER GROVE, ILL. - Freshman Grace Brown recorded her first career hat trick Wednesday to help the Madison College women's soccer team to a 5-0 win in Region 4 competition against Triton College. Brown and the WolfPack scored all five of their goals in the second half, while also holding the Trojans without a shot on goal as first year goalkeeper Ava Foster picked up the clean sheet. The win improves the Pack's lead in the all-time series to 10-2-2.

Offensive opportunities were extremely limited throughout the first half as Madison College registered just two shots on goal and the first 45 minutes ended in a 0-0 tie.

The action picked up in the second half and Madison College generated a break away when Suzy Hinds Cruz sent a long pass down field that was tracked down by fellow freshman Lexi Huebner, who delivered a pass back towards the middle for Brown. Brown caught the goalkeeper out of position and scored in a wide open net for a 1-0 lead in the 52'. Two minutes later, a goal kick by Triton College (4-6-1) went directly to Brown. The Janesville, Wisconsin, native ricochet a shot off the left post and in for a two-goal advantage.

In the 62', it was yet another failed goal kick by the Trojans that led to a WolfPack goal. This time sophomore Jerzey Ladwig intercepted the kick and passed ahead to Hinds Cruz. The first year midfielder made one move to get by a defender before chipping a shot off the goalkeepers hands and into the net. The scoring strike gives Hinds Cruz a team-leading 14 on the year.

Leading 3-0, Brown completed the team's third hat trick in the 74' as Alexis Been deflected an Ava Schmidt pass in the penalty arc. Brown, standing a few feet away, stepped up and delivered a scoring strike past a diving keeper to make it 4-0. It's her second multi-goal game of the season. 

The team's final goal came in the 79', and Brown had another foot in making it happen. Brown split the Trojans defense with a lead pass to a sprinting Schmidt, and the freshman from Lake Mills, Wisconsin, used a low kick to tally her third goal of the season. 

Brown finished with seven total points for the match and now owns four assists. The assists by Been and Ladwig are the second for each, while Huebner's helper is her first career assist.

Foster, a native of Holmen, Wisconsin, did not face a single shot en route to her second full time shutout of the season.

The WolfPack finished with a 10-1 edge in total shots and a 7-0 advantage in shots on goal, as well as seven more corner kicks than Triton College.

Up Next:

Madison College (9-2-1) will conclude the 2024 regular season with a pair of matches over the upcoming weekend. The action begins Saturday, October 19 with a Region 4 match with in-state rival Milwaukee Area Technical College (5-3-2). The WolfPack are 6-0 all-time against the Stormers. Game time at Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch-East is set for 3:15 p.m. and can be live streamed at MadisonCollege.TV. Madison College Athletics will also be celebrating Sophomore Day with a pre-match celebration of the nine-member Sophomore Class of 2024.

The WolfPack will immediately hit the road on Sunday, October 20 for the regular season finale against Rochester Community & Technical College (7-1-1). Madison College boasts a 3-2 all-time record against the Yellowjackets, who are currently ranked #3 in the NJCAA Division III Poll. Kickoff in Rochester, Minnesota, is at 4:00 p.m. and can be live streamed here.

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