MONROE, La. – Freshman Janet Stopka recorded the sixth hat trick in ULM soccer history and junior Thenia Zervas added a pair of assists in her Warhawk debut as ULM topped UT Tyler, 3-0, Wednesday afternoon to start the spring schedule at Brown Stadium.
Stopka scored all three of her goals in the second half to become the sixth Warhawk with three goals in one game. Nancy Kirk and Jenna Pillon were the most recent Warhawks to accomplish the feat, each doing so on Aug. 25, 2013, vs. Grambling State. Stopka is the fourth player in NCAA Division I women's soccer to score a hat trick in the 2020-21 season, joining Kentucky's Jordyn Rhodes, Virginia's Diana Ordonez and Notre Dame's Kiki Van Zanten.
ULM stayed on the attack and controlled the match, peppering the Patriots with 30 shots in the game, including 20 in the first half. The Warhawks put 14 shots on goal in the match, with six coming from Stopka and two from Juliette Reitsma.
"I think they felt they were unfortunate in the fall a couple of times because there was a couple of games we probably deserved to win," ULM head coach Sean Fraser said. "I'm proud of them because they've been resilient. They've been working. They've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and they got their reward today."
Despite the offensive barrage, ULM couldn't find the back of the net in the first half. UT Tyler fired five shots in the first half, with four on frame, but Hailey Hillock came through with four saves. She finished with six saves on the afternoon.
Stopka broke through early in the second half. In the 47th minute, Stopka took a pass from Efi Brame on the right side of the box and buried the shot into the left side of the net for the 1-0 lead.
ULM didn't have many chances over the next 16 minutes. However, the Warhawks took advantage of a free kick for the second goal. Zervas lofted a cross into the right side of the box, and Stopka headed the ball into the net for the 2-0 advantage in the 63rd minute.
Zervas and Stopka struck again 13 minutes later. On another free kick, Zervas again sent the ball into the right side of the box, where Stopka met it and delivered a strike to the left side of the net to push the lead to 3-0.
"We've had a chance to work for three works solid on the practice field, and you could see that in the way that we played," Fraser said. "Some of the interchange, some of the combination play, some of the tactical stuff I think was much better. We're happy with that. Obviously getting Thenia on the field this semester is huge. She got two assists, that's big as well. I'm proud of Janet as well. She deserves it. She works so hard every day."
Hillock played 77 minutes and combined with Mickaela Leal, who closed out the final 13 minutes of the match, for the shutout.
Fraser said Wednesday's win can serve as a building block for his young team.
"They understand it's one game in February that we've won," Fraser said. "We now need to focus and get another one. Hopefully it's not a real-high high and then back to a low. They can be happy with themselves. They can be proud of what they've done today. They played really well. We controlled the game in the areas we wanted to control the game and create many opportunities, which was something that was missing and kept the shutout, which was brilliant as well."
The Warhawks entertain Northwestern State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Brown Stadium. A link to live stats is available on the soccer schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
