MIAMI, Oklahoma -- The 13th ranked Mavs came into the game with a game plan that focused on keeping the ball.  Northern didn't disappoint as the Norse rarely touched the ball except for a short stint early in the second half as the conference leading Mavs cruised to an easy win 3-1.  

NOC is now 8-1 on the year and tied with Rose State at 6-1 for the conference lead.

NEO did not make things easy for Northern packing the defense with eight players behind the ball for most of the night, but the Mavs were able to play through and around them to create numerous chances in the first half.  Unfortunately for the Mavs they weren't able to capitalize until late in the first half when Chloe Wilkins ripped a shot past the Norse goalkeeper.  Maria Perez had the assist.  

NEO started the second half with a short rally, but never were really able to challenge the Mavericks.  The Mavs were able to settle in after a few minutes and regain complete control of the game.  Soon after Heidi Wiedmeier raced down the left side and crossed a perfect ball to Janet Moreno who would score from the top of the box.  The nations leading scorer, Milica Bulatovic would score the Mavs final goal with twelve minutes to play.  Jaz Furra had the assist.  NEO would get on the scoreboard off of their first corner of the game, which resulted in a long shot that was misplayed by the Northern goalkeeper.

"Credit to the girls," said coach Michael DuRoy.  "They executed the game plan very well tonight.  We wanted to keep the ball and they did with great patience.  We are at our best when our outside backs are involved in the attack and Heidi (Weidmeier) and Josie (Jarvis) were getting to the endline all night.  The girls also did a tremendous job of getting the ball back immediately when we lost possession, which has been a big emphasis of ours all year.  Everyone was disappointed to lose the shutout at the end of the game.  Jordan (Webster) would be the first to tell you that she should have made the save.  However, I hate to think of where we would be if we didn't have her on our team.  She stepped up big for us when both of our other goalkeepers were injured.  Her leadership, positivity, and selflessness are inspiring to everyone on the team including us coaches."