CHICAGO – Seven different SIUE women's soccer players scored as the team captured its first win of the season in a 7-0 road win over Chicago State.

The 7-0 win marks the largest margin of victory for the program in the Division I era. With the win, SIUE improves to 1-3-2 on the year, while Chicago State falls to 0-5.

SIUE struck quickly, scoring two goals within the first five minutes of the game. Caroline Hoefert, scoring the first goal for the Cougars this season, netted the ball after an assist from Emily Grahl. Just seconds later, Kassidy Rawdon played a ball up the field to Grahl, who took her defender one-on-one to make the score 2-0.

"We knew once we put the ball in the back of the net, our confidence would grow," said Head Coach Derek Burton.

SIUE went into the half 2-0, but a goal by Cassidy Sherman in the 55^th minute sparked a second-half offensive explosion. Sherman was assisted by Grahl on a shot ten yards out from the net.

"What made the difference were the runs by our forwards up top," said Burton. "We've been working on that in practice and it opened up a lot of opportunities for us today."

A penalty kick by Katye Skrivan put the Cougars up 4-0 in the 59^th minute.

Skrivan again was involved in SIUE's fifth goal of the game, dishing off a pass to Ashlyn Walter, scoring her first career goal with 28 minutes remaining.

Lindsey Fencel, scoring her first career goal as a Cougar in the 72^nd minute, made the score 6-0 on a through ball from Skrivan up the field.

Scoring the final goal for SIUE was freshman Avery Anderson on an assist from fellow freshman Courtney Benning with 10 minutes left in the game.

"It was great we took the next step and took the opportunity," said Burton. "We put away our chances today. We did what we wanted to and we started the game with a lot of energy. We put our stamp on the game early and kept going from there."

SIUE tallied 34 shots on the game, which is the most shots attempted by an SIUE women's soccer team against a Division I opponent. Goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley made one save in her 24^th career shutout. Grahl and Skrivan led the team in scoring, each with four points on a goal and two assists.

The Cougars play their home-opener in a Friday night match-up against Saint Louis. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Korte Stadium.

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