MACOMB, Ill.- Junior Ashley Hoch tallied a goal and an assist as the Western Illinois women's soccer team continued their success at home with a 3-0 victory over Southern Utah at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.

The Westerwinds (7-1-1, 2-0-0 Summit League) have won eight straight games at MacKenzie Alumni Field. Their last loss in Macomb came in 2006 with a 1-0 defeat to former conference foe Valparaiso. Western Illinois is a perfect 6-0-0 at home this season.

"It's good to keep things on a positive note on your home record," said head coach Tony Guinn. "Home turf has been a great advantage to us. We have guys wearing body paint and wigs and that is the type of atmosphere that you want at home."

Western got on the board first in the 17th minute when sophomore Keeley Murray (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) found the back of the net after receiving a cross from senior Misako Inaba (Kashiwa, Japan/Yachiyoshoin). Murray's fourth goal of the season gave the Westerwinds a 1-0 lead.

In the 35th minute of the game, junior defender Kim Schuneman (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) was knocked to the ground inside the penalty box. The foul resulted in a penalty kick for Hoch (Brookfield, Wis./Central) who unloaded her shot past into the left corner of the net and past Thunderbird's (1-3-4, 0-1-2 Summit League) keeper Holly Senter.

The Westerwinds closed out the scoring in the 67th minute of the game when Hoch broke away from the defense and found junior Katelyn Wisner (Lenexa, Kan./Olathe East) in the middle of the field without a Thunderbird around her. Wisner beat the keeper to score her second goal of the season.

The defense was strong in the Westerwinds' third shutout of the year as Western Illinois allowed Southern Utah only 11 shots and five on goal.

"[Meghan] Tyk has been great in the goal," stated Guinn. "Our defense did a wonderful job at staying organized and not allowing great opportunities for Southern Utah.

Sophomore Meghan Tyk (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) put in over 70 minutes in goal and made three saves to pick up her fourth win of the season. Freshman Jessica Walsh (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) finished the last 20 minutes of the game, making two saves is the process.

"Defense is really important to us," said Schuneman. "We work really hard at it and we take a lot of pride in shutouts."

"Southern Utah is a very tough team to play," Guinn said. "They have a lot of heart and play hard until the whistle blows. They're very well organized, well coached, and difficult to break down. We didn't get too many opportunities to score today, but we capitalized on the ones we did get."

The Westerwinds will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., Sunday, September 30, to take on Summit League member IPFW at 4 p.m.