The Knights pressured the Fighting Saints from the opening whistle and won their third straight match to improve to 3-0 on the year.

Junior Lauren Gerbick tallied the first marker of the match at the 12:14 mark when sophomore goalkeeper Julia Naab sent a punt past the midfield stripe. Sophomore Ashley Flewelling flicked the ball to Gerbick, who was making a diagonal run. Gerbick touched the ball past her defender and slotted a shot inside the right post for her fourth goal of the season.

She completed the brace at the 17:34 mark when Flewelling sent a long ball into the offensive third. Junior Kendra Wilmes got on the end and one-touched a pass to Gerbick, who was overlapping. Gerbick calmly slipped her shot past the goalkeeper to give MU a 2-0 lead.

The Knights carried the lead into the break after a dominant first half in which they out-shot the Fighting Saints by a 22-2 margin. However, only five of those shots were on frame.

The second half was more of the same early on, but USF would not go down without turning the tide late in the match.

The Knights made it 3-0 just 3:25 into the second stanza. Freshman Casey Stouder hit a free kick over the defense. Junior Lacey Hersman made a perfect run straight through the defense and found herself alone in space with her marker trailing. Hersman got to the top of the 18-yard box and flicked a shot over the goalkeeper before the two collided. The ball floated toward the goal line and crossed to give MU the 3-0 lead.

A half-hour later Hersman completed the brace when she drew a penalty at the 78:52 mark. Hersman corralled a pass at the top of the 18-yard box and turned toward goal, but she was taken down in the right corner of the box. The referee whistled the spot shot and Hersman easily converted to the right of the goalkeeper to blow the match open, 4-0.

The Fighting Saints sustained pressure on the Knights' defense for the first time over the last 12 minutes, but it was not enough as the defense held on for the 4-0 win.

Gerbick's brace gives her five goals in three matches this season, while Hersman has a pair. Sophomore Julia Naab earned the victory in net and earned her fourth clean sheet in as many career starts.

The Knights head to Hanover College on Wednesday for their first road match of the season. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. and you can follow live in-game updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/muknights.