MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Junior Kelley Stump recorded her first collegiate hat trick and No. 8 Northwestern scored three times in the second half to pull away from host Central Michigan for a 4-0 victory Sunday afternoon.
After suffering a tight 2-1 loss to No. 7 Stanford on Friday that snapped the team's six-game winning streak, the Wildcats got back on track. Northwestern dominated possession as it out-shot the Chippewas 29-5 and held a commanding 19-2 edge in penalty corners.
Despite the huge statistical advantage, NU had a tough time breaking away from Central Michigan thanks in large part to the efforts of goalkeeper Sadie Reynolds who recorded seven saves in each half.
It took the 'Cats a while to get things going but Northwestern began to take charge with eight minutes remaining in the opening half. After NU fought off a CMU penalty corner, Francesca Berry had her initial shot block and her second one saved by Reynolds before Stump finally broke through with a goal to put the Wildcats in front with 4:25 left in the opening stanza.
Northwestern took the 1-0 lead into the intermission before the second half was a decidedly one-sided affair. It didn't take the 'Cats long to get an insurance goal as a penalty corner resulted in a goal just 1:56 into the period. An initial shot by Isabel Flens was saved, but Lisa McCarthy was waiting on the doorstep to put home the rebound and make it 2-0.
The Wildcats maintained the pressure throughout the remainder of the contest but were unable to cash in on numerous penalty corner attempts to pull away. Northwestern finally gave itself some breathing room at 51:41 as Stump tallied her second of the match off a rebound, increasing the lead to three.
Stump completed the hat trick at 55:08, scoring off an assist by Dominique Masters to complete the scoring. The goal was Stump's seventh of the season, ranking her third behind only Flens and Caroline Troncelliti who have nine apiece. The performance marked Stump's third multi-goal game of the season after previously scoring two goals apiece in wins over Dartmouth and Maryland.
Northwestern out-shot Central Michigan 18-1 in the second half and had 11 penalty corners while the Chippewas had none. Maddy Carpenter made three of her four saves in the first half en route to her third shutout of the season.
The Wildcats return to the state of Michigan next weekend beginning with a key Big Ten contest against Michigan in Ann Arbor at 6 p.m. Central time Friday.