OLIVET, Mich. – Julia Benham notched her first career goal to lead a trio of Thunder goal scorers as the Trine University Women's Soccer team shot past the University of Olivet 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon in the final game of the regular season. Trine is now 10-4-3 (5-2-1 MIAA) while Olivet falls to 2-12-3 (0-7-1 MIAA).
 
Trine settled into a physical game over the first 14 minutes as the teams committed a combined seven fouls and set the tone for a battle early on. Sophie Aschemeier was in goal for the first half for the Thunder making the save on the only shot on goal she faced as the potent Thunder defense only provided the Comets with two shot opportunities. Trine was able to make their presence known on the offensive side of the pitch as well. Abby Robison took the first shot of the afternoon for Trine and sent it past the Comets keeper for a quick 1-0 lead in the 15^th minute. Robison was not done there as just 40 seconds later she found herself in striking distance again and took a shot that bounced off a Comet defender and earned Trine a corner kick. The physical, defensive game was prevalent over the next 25 minutes as the teams combined for a flurry of fouls and the Thunder earned just one shot attempt. Trine surrendered the second shot attempt in the 41^st minute, but Olivet's striker was unable to connect. The visitors closed the half with two more shot attempts, one from Francesca Fronczak and the other from Benham both shots fell wide left.
 
The Thunder offense came out of the half strong, registering three shots in the first three minutes of action. Madison Kinneer took over in goal for Trine in the second half and proved to be up to the task making stops in the 51^st and 56^th minute to secure the combined shutout. The Thunder offense was not done as Maggie McDowell found Ashlyn Swartz who sent home her third goal of the season to give the Thunder a 2-0 advantage. A yellow card against the hosts provided Trine with a scoring opportunity in the 60^th minute but were unable to cash in. Kinneer made two more saves in the 62^nd and 67^th minutes as the Comets desperately tried to close the deficit to one. Benham slammed the door in the 73^rd minute with her first career goal to stretch the Thunder lead to 3-0.
 
Trine outshot the Comets 15-7 and held a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. Olivet held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The teams combined for 34 fouls in what was a physical match. Trine will host a quarterfinal match of the MIAA Tournament on Shive Field on Saturday against St. Mary's at 1 p.m.