The St. Edward’s women’s soccer team looks poised to make another NCAA Tournament run. The Hilltoppers have won five straight games and currently have an overall record of 11-1-1. The Hilltoppers sits on top of the Heartland Conference with a 6-0-1 record in conference play.

The Hilltoppers got off to a 5-0 start before experiencing their only loss of the year to Central Oklahoma on Sept. 18. St. Edward’s entered the game ranked number 2 in NCAA Division II, but has since dropped out of the top 25. Central Oklahoma is now ranked 24th.

The Hilltoppers got back on track with a comeback win against conference rival Dallas Baptist. The Hilltoppers trailed 3-1 with less than five minutes to play, but were able to force overtime thanks to goals by Bethany Bennett and Ashley Villm. The first overtime ended without a goal by either team. In the second overtime, sophomore Rachel Murray scored the game winner off an assist from Ally Lindquist.

Since that thrilling win, the team beat four more Heartland Conference foes: St. Mary’s, Texas A&M International, UT-Permian Basin and Newman.

In the Battle of the Saints, St. Edward’s beat St. Mary’s 1-0 in overtime. Brianna Hinnenkamp found Murray, who scored her fourth game winning goal on the season. Murray now leads the team with nine goals and four assists. The Katy native has been recognized as the Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice this season in weeks Sept. 5 though 11 and Sept. 26 through Oct. 2.        

Freshman Megan Anderson was recognized as the Heartland Conference Player of the week for Oct. 10-16 by the conference.

Anderson scored two goals against Texas A&M International and led the Toppers to a 3-0 victory. In the Hilltoppers’ rematch against Newman last Saturday, she scored two more goals in the 5-0 victory. The midfielder/forward now ranks second on the team in numbers of goals scored with five goals.

Against UT-Permian Basin last Thursday, St. Edward’s scored all four of their goals in the second half in the 4-0 win. Two seniors, Caitlin Reedy and Kelly Servage, each had a goal.

Reedy, a defender, rarely gets opportunities to score goals. “I’ve been wanting to score,” Reedy said. “I finally got one to