Photo by Samantha Davis New Ulm’s Grace Barie (13) closes in toward the net and scores a goal in the first half against Marshall in a Big South Conference matchup Thursday night.

By Samantha Davis

sports@nujournal.com

MARSHALL — With both teams stringing together several good looks on the offensive end, the New Ulm girls soccer team came out victorious with a 3-0 win over Marshall Thursday night behind a pair of Grace Barie goals in the first half in a Big South Conference matchup. The win gets the Eagles back into the win column following a loss and tie.

“I think we played with intensity. They [Marshall] were covering Jesalyn [Skoglund, a core offensive player] the whole game. They had one, if not two, people on her. So, we just adjusted and said, ‘Just take yourself out of the play, that opens up the field,’ and it seemed to work,” New Ulm head coach Jonathan Johnson said. “She’s kind of our scoring machine … But, we got it done. The girls played hard, and Marshall is a pretty good team, too. We just did what we had to do, and made it all work.”

Both Marshall and New Ulm looked unified on both ends of the field, with a handful of defensive deflections while continuing to find pockets and attack on the offensive end.

Both of Barie’s goals came in the opening half. Freshman Marlena Kral put the dagger on the win in the 75th minute, with a goal as the game was winding to a close.

“It was a blessing,” Johnson said of Barie’s two first-half goals. “She is powerful, she’s small in stature, but she gets around and doesn’t get pushed around on the field. It was awesome to have her score.”

Marshall’s Emma Messenbrink and New Ulm’s Elizabeth Dake both had strong performances in the net, finishing with 11 and eight saves, respectively. Both had six saves in the first half.

The difference maker was the Eagles’ ability to keep possession of the ball for a majority of the night, primarily in the second half, limiting the Tigers’ chances of a comeback.

“I thought we did really well. We pushed back, and they play [scrappy] sometimes,” Marshall junior captain Abby Wing said. “But, we stuck to our game … We played clean.”

New Ulm has gotten off to an exceptionally strong start to the season, winning its first five games consecutively and already on the verge of surpassing its total wins last year, when the team went 7-10-1 overall.

Prior to Thursday, the Eagles fell to New Prague 5-0 on Saturday for their first loss of the year, and tied with St. Peter 3-3 on Tuesday.

“We’ve been on fire,” Johnson said. “We ran up against the bus in New Prague, and they’re another level above us, but still, we didn’t play bad. We just got outplayed. But, it’s probably the best we have had in what, 15 years. I can’t say enough about these kids. They come to practice every day and are just eager and ready to go … A great bunch of kids, and a great bunch of coaches.”

From the jump, New Ulm had a shot on goal in the game’s first two minutes with Morgan Zimanski crashing toward the net.

But, Marshall’s Ariana Arevalo did just the same quickly after, fighting for the ball and bringing it up the field before the Eagle’s defensive line stopped her just prior to the attacking third.

“We were just running as fast as we can,” Marshall’s Elsie Deutz said. “[We were] trying to get a chance at every opportunity we had to shoot.”

Deutz, one of Marshall’s primary offensive players, missed a few opening minutes due to a bloody nose, but she was still able to return in the first half.

In the 15th minute, Barie broke through a few Marshall defenders and closed in on the attacking third down the center of the field as she sent the ball into the back of the net to put the Eagles on the board, 1-0.

Barie extended New Ulm’s lead with another goal with 3:59 left in the first half.

After Barie’s first goal, Marshall’s Maddie Hoefer had a good look after dribbling the ball up the right side of the field, but just slightly overshot it past the left goal post.

Both teams continued to attack with a few players racking up shot attempts, not letting up on their aggressive offensive efforts.

“We have some really fast forwards, and I think our defense really kept up with them [New Ulm],” Marshall junior captain Kathryn Gordon said. “Especially Brielle [Felton-Krog]. She was just on [New Ulm’s] number seven [Skoglund] … That really helped out.”

But, New Ulm began to gain control more often to begin the second half and tended to keep the ball on its scoring half.

The Tigers were able to get through on a few occasions down the field, but the Eagles’ defense was ultimately able to offer security and solidify the win.

“I think stepping to the ball quicker, and we were reading the balls really fast which is good, so they weren’t making all their passes,” Gordon said about what Marshall was trying to control in the second half. “Just trying to make sure we were getting it out quicker and not back in the middle, because that’s vulnerable in the center. Just keeping it on the outsides, and then getting it up into the center again.”

After New Ulm had back-to-back shot attempts, Kral was able to put the ball in the back of the net following a corner kick with five minutes of gameplay to go.

New Ulm (6-1-1) will next return home for the first of a four-game homestand when it hosts Mankato West at Eagles Stadium on Monday at 6:45 p.m.