With three wins last week, the high-flying women’s soccer team improved its Div. III national ranking to 19th.

The team beat UW-Steven’s Point last Friday 2-0 and St. Olaf by the same score on Sunday night. Then on Tuesday, the Mac women dominated St. Kate’s 6-0. The wins improve the Scots’ conference-leading MIAC record to 8-0 and their overall record to 12-1.

In Friday’s game, the Scots consistently outplayed UW-Stevens Point, who knocked them out of the NCAA tournament last year. The Mac defense, led by Erin Hoople ’05 and Adrienne Keller ’06, was once again unflappable, allowing only one shot on goal the entire game.

Jenny Singleton ’06 scored five minutes into the first half off an assist from Alice Hacker ’05. Cara Goff ’06 then scored the first goal of her MIAC career with a hooking corner that got past the Pointers’ goalie.

Playing at Macalester Stadium on Sunday, the Mac women enjoyed an enthusiastic home crowd in their victory over the Oles.

For a majority of the game, Macalester kept the ball on St. Olaf’s side of the field. Nearly 40 minutes into the first half, Goff had a corner kick. After one attempt that resulted in a second corner kick, Goff placed the ball on the far side of the net for a 1-0 lead, scoring her second goal from the corner.

Macalester’s second goal came midway through the second half, when midfielder Singleton finished a ball from the top of the box.

As usual, Scot’s goalkeeper Louisa Bigelow ’07 gave a solid performance. In one of the Oles’ few scoring opportunities, Bigelow outraced the St. Olaf forwards in order to sweep up a bouncing ball in the Macalester goal box.

This past Tuesday, Macalester continued its winning ways, crushing St. Catherine’s 6-0. Mac jumped to a 5-0 lead at halftime, and coasted the rest of the way, getting in time for substitutes.

The team’s match with then No. 1-ranked University of Chicago remains Macalester’s sole loss of the season and the Scots are optimistic about maintaining their single-loss record for the four remaining conference games. The game tonight against St. Benedict’s should be a good one, as the Blazers seek revenge for their season-ending loss to Macalester in last year’s MIAC playoffs.