A statistically-dominating effort on Thursday (Sept. 17) night led to the No. 11-ranked Ashland University women's soccer team to a 3-0 win over Ohio Dominican at Ferguson Field.
 
The Eagles stay tied atop the Great Midwest Athletic Conference table at 5-1-1 overall and 3-0 in the league. This was AU's fourth consecutive win – all via clean sheets.
 
"Defensively, in the second half, I thought we were really, really good," said Ashland head coach Cayleb Paulino. "I thought we could have put the ball in the back of the net a little more today. You keep a clean sheet, you find ways to score, and you move on."
 
It took Ashland less than 19 minutes to take the lead, as senior midfielder Ella Schneider scored her team-high-tying third goal of the fall in front of the ODU (1-5, 0-3) net, unassisted.
 
Another unassisted goal in the 27^th minute, this one from sophomore forward Tessa Blain, the reigning Great Midwest offensive Athlete of the Week, put the Eagles up by a 2-0 count. It was Blain's fourth tally of the fall, putting her back in the team lead alone.
 
"Both of them (Schneider and Blain) put themselves in really good positions," Paulino said. "We continue to be dangerous, we're putting people in the box, we're getting shots off and creating some dangerous chances, so we've just got to put more in the back of the net."
 
Finally, off a corner kick in the 86^th minute, Schneider (second assist of the season) found freshman forward Brooke Benne for her second tally of the season.
 
"We wanted to win both halves," Paulino said. "The starters went out and manufactured a goal, which I think is important."
 
Sophomore goalkeepers Izzy Ezzone (two saves) and Avery Alves equally split time between the pipes to combine for the shutout.
 
The Eagles took 27 of the game's 30 shots, and 10 of the contest's 12 corner kicks. AU came into Thursday night tied for second in NCAA Division II with 8.5 corners per game.
 
Since the start of 2015, Ashland is 9-0-1 vs. ODU.
 
Ashland will go back on the road in Great Midwest play on Saturday (Sept. 19) at 7 p.m. at Northwood (4-3, 3-0).
 
"Those guys are going to make things difficult. They always do," said Paulino. "We've got to figure out ways to create an environment where we're creating success. We're excited about the opportunity to go back up and go 2-0 this week."