ORANGE CITY, Iowa - A pair of freshman offensive dynamos in Trisha Shoemaker of Bettendorf and Hollie Babut of Oshawa, Ontario, packed all the scoring punch in their collegiate debuts as the Ashford University women's soccer team edged Northwestern College, 3-2, on Friday evening to open the regular season.

Shoemaker scored a pair of goals and Babut chipped in another score as the Saints (1-0-0, 0-0-0 MCC) started the year on the right foot after an inspiring preseason. It also marked the season opener for the Red Raiders (0-1-0, 0-0-0 GPAC).

"This was a good team win to start of the season," AU Head Coach Mick Regan said. "We wanted the preseason to push our players to be ready for the season opener. There is plenty of room for improvement in certain areas, but we're headed on the right track."

Babut, the diminutive forward who shredded the University of Northern Iowa defense for two goals, struck again in unassisted fashion at the 9:55 mark to give the Saints an early advantage.

Northwestern countered later to tie in the first half with a goal off the foot of Alli Dunkelberger.

Shoemaker gave a glimpse of her offensive prowess during the team's trip to Costa Rica. She assisted a pair of goals and came close to scoring several others in the Saints' 3-3 draw against defending national champion Arenal.

The Pleasant Valley High School grad found the net twice in a 10-minute span, drilling home the game-winning goal in the 74th minute. She also scored at the 64:05 mark in the second half and peppered 10 total shots at NC goalkeeper Wendy Hofmeyer.

"I'm proud of how the freshmen carried themselves out there," Regan said. "Hollie has made some jaw-dropping moves in practice. She's an offensive wizard. Trisha has that ability to shift her speed into another gear."

The Red Raiders' Alyssa Duren knotted it up again, this time at 2-2, before Shoemaker's second score.

Six newcomers were in the starting lineup for Regan, including five freshmen.

The Saints outshot the Red Raiders, 25-12, and senior All-American goalkeeper Kylie Willet of East Moline, Ill., recorded a save in her 12th career win.

Ashford continues action in the northwestern corner of the state tomorrow, heading to Dordt College for a 2 p.m. matchup in the NWC/Dordt Pizza Classic.

Ashford 3, Northwestern College 2 - Box Score

NOTE: Sophomore Jerika Castillo of Iowa City was the Saints' goalkeeper for this game, not Kylie Willet. The stat file will be readjusted.