Benning hat trick leads Wartburg over Simpson

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Kaylee Benning scored a hat trick and No. 18 Wartburg beat the Simpson women's soccer team 5-1 on Thursday night.

Benning scored her first goal less than two minutes into the game and the Knights (8-1-2, 2-0 Iowa Conference) got out to a 4-0 lead before Simpson got its first look at the goal.

"We ran up against a tough side tonight and didn't play our best soccer," head coach Ryan Sander said. "When you face a quality opponent like Wartburg you have to put together a quality performance to have a chance, and we didn't do that. Now we have to put this one behind us and focus on what lies ahead."

Rachel Torry and Anna Aquino also had goals, helping the Wartburg attack out-shoot the hosts 17-1 on the night.

Amber Johnson scored the lone goal for the Storm (7-4, 1-1), who dropped their second game in a row after enjoying a five-game winning streak.

Defender Kara Lovik started the attack on a counter play, serving up a well-place ball from midfield to a streaking Johnson. Johnson took the delivery off a bounce and tapped it into the net for her team-leading fifth goal of the year.

Megan Petersen made three saves between the posts.

Simpson will try to move above .500 in league play this Saturday when it travels to Dubuque for a meeting with the Spartans (4-5-2, 0-1-1).

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.