MUNSTER | Maybe Times No. 8 Munster was a bit sluggish Thursday, as coach Valerie Pflum said.
But the Mustangs played well enough to earn a 4-1 win over No. 10 Portage.
"Overall, I don't think we played as well-rounded a game as we did on Tuesday night (in a 1-0 win over Kankakee Valley," Pflum said. "I just think that our intensity level was a little down."
The Mustangs (3-1) were aggressive early. Allyson Goodrich scored first, just over a minute into the contest, beating Indians keeper Lauren Zack low.
Itxel Carlos gave Munster a 2-0 lead with a goal off of freshman Emily Johnson's cross at 32:21.
"The game plan is always to come in (and) maintain possession, win the ball and just to be intense defensively," Pflum said. "I don't think we transitioned, when we had to go back defensively, quickly enough. But overall, they did a nice job but obviously we need to work on shooting."
Munster took 28 shots on the night and less than half were on goal.
"(Pflum) gave us a little kick in the butt at halftime because we were kind of going through the motions," Goodrich said. "
Goodrich notched her second goal at 45:25. On a breakaway, Goodrich beat Zack to the ball but the two collided, and Goodrich flipped over the goalie's back.
"I jumped and I just clipped (Zack)," Goodrich said. "It didn't feel good."
The Mustang junior put it in the back of the net on the resulting penalty kick.
Senior Jess Wargo put the final Munster goal on the board in the 73rd minute. Cayla Bales picked up the assist.
Nikki Monahan kept the Indians (0-7) from being shutout with her goal at 74:10.
"Consistently, we're losing it within the first two minutes of every game/half," Indians coach Ashley Severs said. "It's something that we're working on, getting them off their heels."
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