NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The Carleton College women's soccer team opened its 2023 campaign in flying fashion, as the Knights raced to a 5-0 victory over visiting St. Norbert College on a balmy afternoon at Bell Field.
 
The Knights (1-0) commanded the contest from the opening whistle, firing 35 shots goalward, 15 on target. St. Norbert (0-1) mustered three attempts, two of which were on frame. Carleton had five shots within the first 10 minutes, and the sixth opened the scoring. In the 15th minute, Casey MacVeagh—the 2022 MIAC Offensive Player of the Year—perfectly slotted a through ball to Kathryn Kresse, who finished neatly past the charging goalkeeper.
 
In the 34th minute, the St. Norbert defense was unable to clear the ball following a free kick into the box, and Ashlyn Haigh cleaned up, lashing home the loose ball to give Carleton a 2-0 halftime lead.
 
The third goal arrive in the 62nd minute. Claire Burbery gathered the ball off a cleared corner kick and sent a floated ball towards the back post. Thea Traw, last year's minutes leader for the Knights, timed her run perfectly and escorted the ball across the line for her third career goal.
 
Traw played a part in Carleton's fourth goal in the 86th minute, sending a long ball over the St. Norbert defense, allowing Hadley Twichell to run onto it before curling her shot into the side-netting.
 
In the 90th minute, Saheli Patel dribbled toward the center of the field to create some space and launched a 25-yard shot that snuck under the crossbar for her first career collegiate goal.
 
Goalkeeper Ezra Kucur registered a pair of saves in earning her second career clean sheet.
 
Up Next for the Knights
The Knights continue their nonconference slate at Bell Field on Sunday, Sept. 3 against North Central College. The game has been moved up to a 10:30 AM start due to extreme heat in the afternoon forecast.