KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Bourke Field - 24th-ranked McKendree University women's soccer (5-0-0, 1-0-0 GLVC) began its Great Lakes Valley Conference slate on Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory on the road, taking down Ruckhurst behind three first-half scores. The Bearcats went up 3-0 in the first 45 minutes as senior midfielder Katie Spotanski, freshman forward Maddie Mauch, and senior forward Anna Stiffler each fired scores while holding the Hawks to just two shots over the initial period. The victory at Bourke Field pushed the Bearcats into the lead all-time against Rockhurst, with McKendree owning an 8-7-1 record over the Hawks. McKendree continues its conference play on the road next weekend, taking on William Jewell on September 20 in Liberty and Truman State on September 22 in Kirksville.

The Bearcats and Hawks battled early in this one with neither squad getting much in terms of true attempts but in the 20th minute, McKendree earned a penalty kick attempt with the midfielder Katie Spotanski converting the shot for the 1-0 lead. In the coming minutes, the Bearcats went right back to their offense, scoring two in the next seven minutes of action. In the 24th minute, the freshman Maddie Mauch followed up a shot attempt by senior forward Lena Higgins, rebounding the ball and send it into the back of the net. It marked Mauch's second goal and Higgins' second assist of the campaign. The third and eventual game-winning goal of the game was fired in the 27th minute by the senior Anna Stiffler, who gathered and dribbled through the defense, punching it in near the top of the box. 

The second half seemed to be all Rockhurst offensively, as the Hawks scored two goals in the first 13 minutes before the Bearcats' defense locked back in. McKendree caged the Hawks for the final stretch of the game, restricting the host's attack to keep its one goal advantage through the final horn. 

McKendree and RU both concluded the contest with six shots on-frame while junior goalkeeper Maicy Mueller collected four saves in the victory for the Bearcats.