Twenty-two years to be exact.

But Saturday’s 2-1 win over the North Central University Rams came with that kind of history attached to it as the Schoeneck sisters helped lift the Knights to their fifth win of the season in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game.

The last time an MLC women’s soccer team won five games this early in a season came 22 years ago to the day after a 3-0 win over Northland on Sept. 20, 2003. The team finished that season 13-6-1.

The season before that, the Knights defeated Northwestern (Iowa) 3-1 to get win No. 5 on Sept. 17, 2002. MLC finished the 2002 campaign 15-4-1.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College senior Naomi Foley dribbles the ball near the sideline during Saturday afternoon’s UMAC women’s soccer game against North Central in New Ulm.

Since then, the Knights haven’t been able to put together a season .500 or better, but this year the team is looking to change that.

With a goal from senior Rachel Schoeneck, followed by one from her junior sister, Katie Schoeneck, the Knights (5-2-1, 2-0 UMAC) were able to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. After Rachel Schoeneck’s goal on an assist by fellow senior Naomi Foley in the 20th minute of play, Katie Schoeneck was the first to greet her sister with a smile and a hug in what will be the final season the two will get to play together.

It was also a special game for the two being that it came on Parent’s Day and their dad was able to make the trip from Texas to see the two play in person.

“It was a really good feeling,” Rachel Schoeneck said. “I haven’t scored a lot in my time here, so it does feel good to do that and in front of my dad today and that was also awesome. And just being on the field with Katie.”

Saturday’s game originally appeared to be the kind in which the Knights would only need the elder Schoeneck’s goal, but the younger sister’s goal ended up being the decider after the Rams (1-5, 0-2 UMAC) scored in the second half on a putback goal by Olivia Beach in the 52nd minute of play. Knights goalie Maria Vik originally got her hands on a shot prior to that goal, but the ball bounced away to her left, allowing Beach the easy putback.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Priscilla Boehm kicks the ball during a UMAC women’s soccer game against North Central Saturday in New Ulm.

Katie Schoeneck made it a 2-0 game in the first half in the 27th minute unassisted.

“I think we did good in the first half, playing our game and possessing,” Katie Schoeneck said. “In the second half our touches were a little looser, but we fought to the end. It wasn’t necesarilly the prettiest, you could say, but we fought and a win’s a win.”

NCU goalie Erma Ramirez had her hands full in the game as she collected 12 saves, but the Knights could have made her day busier yet as they finished with a total of 27 shots to NCU’s six. The Knights also had nine corner kicks in the game but were unable to convert on them with a goal.

Pretty or not, the Knights are off to a hot start and the early success has been brewing for a while.

“I think we’ve been building for a long time,” Katie Schoeneck said. “We had some good seniors last year, but there were only three of them, so it kind of feels like the same team again this year, which I think is really neat. The people on the field, we’ve all been playing together for a good one to two years and we really know how each other plays, so, I think that’s really cool and helping us out.”

Rachel Schoeneck, one of three seniors, said her senior season has came with a bit of an early adjustment period, but she believes the younger players are stepping up and bettering the team and program.

“It’s definitely hard being the senior because I’ve always looked up to the ones above me,” she said. “So, that’s been different, but I love how the underclassmen, they’re the ones who make us better every day in practice. They’re definitely important in terms of the program and the long run. I know that they’re gonna have to fill my spot next year, and I feel confident letting them do that.”

The Knights will look to keep their strong start going when they host the University of Minnesota Morris at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in UMAC action. The Knights defeated UMM 5-3 on Sept. 3 in a non-UMAC game in Morris.

“We won 5-3, so lots of scoring,” Katie Schoeneck said. “I think we can effectively do our offense against them and take lots of shots, that helped us last time a lot. Doesn’t mean it’ll be the same game the second time around, so we’re ready. They’re ready for us, so we’ll have to put up a fight on Tuesday.”

NOTE: This story and photos will be printed in the Tuesday, Sept. 23 edition of The Journal.