SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The No. 10-ranked and fifth-seeded John Brown University women's soccer team scored twice in each half behind a postseason career performance from senior Aubrey Winter, powering a 4-1 victory over Hastings (Neb.) on Saturday evening (Nov. 22) at Alumni Field and sending the Golden Eagles to its third straight NAIA National Championships Round of 16.
Winter, who entered the match without a career postseason goal, delivered the most productive national-stage outing of her career. In the senior's swan song at Alumni Field, she struck twice in a five-minute span in the opening half, then completed her hat trick just after the break, finishing the night with three goals and one assist.
The Blue and Gold (14-2-4) extended its unbeaten run at Alumni Field to 21 matches while advancing in the national tournament for the sixth time in program history.
John Brown started quickly, generating early pressure through the wide channels. The breakthrough came in the 12th minute when Tianna Jones drove a service into the left side of the box for Winter, who ran through her defender and finished into the middle of goal for her 10th of the season.
Four minutes later, Winter doubled the lead. After JBU won another corner, junior Julia Lambert bent a delivery toward the near post from the left flag, where Winter jumped on a loose ball and chipped a shot over the keeper and into the net for her second of the night.
Hastings (16-4-3), which entered unseeded but undefeated in its last eight matches, pulled one back moments later. In the 18th minute, Jasmin Bislev Nielsen clipped a cross from the left wing toward the penalty spot, where Madison Rhodes timed a glancing header that tucked inside the far right post.
The Broncos nearly equalized late in the half, but Nielsen's 42nd-minute strike rattled off the crossbar, maintaining the host side's advantage at the break.
JBU regained control soon after halftime. In the 57th minute, Jones again unlocked the Bronco back line with a ball headed wide to Winter, and Winter cut through the middle and smashed home her third goal from just inside the 18 yard box to restore the two-goal cushion.
The Golden Eagles continued to dictate play through midfield pressure, pinning Hastings in its defensive third and cycling through seven second-half corner kicks.
The pressure paid off again in the 66th minute when Winter, now creating rather than finishing, delivered a bending near-post cross from the right corner flag, and sophomore Caitlin Hilson met it in stride for a driven header, extending the margin to 4-1.
JBU outshot Hastings 14-4, including an 8-2 edge in shots on goal, and struck the woodwork once when Jones' 75th-minute curling effort rattled the bar.
Sophomore Marely Fonseca (14-1-3) needed only one second-half save, as center backs Bella Mendieta and Bella Bingham anchored a defensive unit that allowed just two shots on frame all evening.
The win sends John Brown back into the Round of 16 for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall, and with Saturday's result, the Blue and Gold improves its all-time NAIA National Championships record to 8-9-2 (.474) across 12 appearances.
John Brown advances to face No. 13-ranked and 12th-seeded Life (Ga.) on Dec. 4 in Pensacola, Fla., at the Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park.
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