WAUKESHA, Wis. -  Explosive.
It was a fitting way to describe the aggressive, high-octane performance of the Carroll University women's soccer team as it defeated St. Norbert College 5-1 in a sunny, warm, nonconference game between longtime rivals at Schneider Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It was the second consecutive home-field victory and third straight to cap a busy week for Carroll, which improved to 4-1 overall.
The Pioneers have won 15 of their past 16 home games dating back to Oct. 17, 2015.
Junior forward/midfielder Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) and junior forward Rachel Van Sluys (Sheboygan, Wis.) each contributed two goals to lead Carroll, which outshot the Green Knights by a 15-3 margin - maintaining a 13-3 shot-on-goal advantage.
The Pioneers outscored St. Norbert 4-1 in what proved to be a decisive first half, including two momentum-shifting goals within the opening five minutes.
On the crucial, momentum-shifting first goal of the contest, Pruitt scored off an assist from Van Sluys at the 3:41 mark.
Van Sluys took possession on the right side, quickly worked downfield 10 yards past a defender and fired a crisp crossing pass toward the middle to a wide-open Pruitt, who finished with a strong, rolling shot into the right corner of the net.
"Our attitude was different as opposed to the past few games, played a big role in our success and helped us take another step forward today," said Pruitt, who earned first-team all-conference honors in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin last year. "It all started with the effort of our back, defensive line, became contagious and carried over to the rest of the team.
"When we managed to score the two goals in the first five minutes, it really seemed to shut them down and create a lot of momentum. It was nice to be able to come out strong and make it happen. After getting the first one, we just wanted to feed off of it and keep it going. It was just great to be able to finish with a strong victory and end the day by ringing the victory bell."
The Pioneers extended the lead to 2-0 as Van Sluys scored what later became the winning goal on an unassisted shot at the 4:25 mark.
"It was a pretty special victory that really showed that we're starting to come together, making steady progress and beginning to turn the corner," said Van Sluys, the reigning CCIW Player of the Year. "Today, being able to come away with some big early goals against a big-time rival like St. Norbert was a great accomplishment and should help set the tone for the games to come. 
"Having a lot of younger players on the field, it was important to be able to build a lead and make the most of the experience. Instead of playing from behind and being the door mat, we were more like the matador and took charge of the sitaution. I'm really excited about this group and the possiblilities."
Senior forward/midfielder Sabrina Georgeff (Naperville, Ill.) followed with an unassisted goal in the 21st minute.
Pruitt's second goal came on an unassisted shot in the 41st minute to round out the dominant first half for Carroll, which generated nine corner kicks.
Van Sluys added a goal off an assist from freshman midfielder Katie Baertsch (Lake Villa, Ill.) in the 65th minute.
Junior Sabrina Sieger (Waukesha, Wis.) and sophomore Christina O' Block (Libertyville, Ill.) each played a half at goalkeeper to help preserve a victory for the Pioneers.
Carroll head coach Susie Foster was encouraged by the way her young team came out energized, stayed focused and made a statement.
"I was the most proud of how we not only earned a victory but also answered the call, stepped up to the difficult challenge and played up to our potential," said Foster, who was named the Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2015. "Throughout the day, we really attempted to focus on maintaining our aggressiveness and creating a multidimensional attack. As that happened, we were able to increase our physicality all over the field beginning with the effort of our back line.
"Being a young team, its a gradual learning process and today we started to play with a purpose. It was exciting to see them grind it out from beginning to end and take the next step forward."
Junior forward/midfielder Dana Schwab had a goal for St. Norbert, which dropped to 2-3 overall.