WAUKESHA, Wis. - Sophomore forward Rachel Van Sluys (Sheboygan, Wis.) scored the winning goal off an assist from sophomore forward/midfielder Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) in the 57th minute to lead the Carroll University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Elmhurst College in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin regular-season home finale at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the fourth consecutive conference victory and 10th shutout of the season for Carroll, which improved to 4-1-1 in the highly-contested league standings and 13-3-1 overall.
The pressure-packed victory took on added significance as the Pioneers finished the regular season undefeated at home with a 9-0 record.
The Pioneers, who remained in sole possession of third place in the conference, have won six straight games with five coming via shutout.
On the game-winning goal at the 57:57 mark, Pruitt initially fired a hard-lining shot from 15 yards out that was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Moments later, Van Sluys made a quick adjustment and finished by rebounding the ball into the back of the net.
Freshman goalkeeper Christina O' Block (Libertyville, Ill.) was a neutralizing force throughout the contest, making six critical saves to help preserve a shutout.
Carroll outshot the Bluejays 9-6, managing to overcome a 6-3 shot-on-goal deficit in the process.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for Elmhurst, which dropped to 1-6 in conference and 8-7 overall.