HELENA, Mont. – Three Saints scored and the Carroll back line held Trinity Lutheran to just three shots en route to a 3-0 win over the Eagles Wednesday afternoon at Nelson Stadium.
 
It took the Carroll offense a little bit to get into the action before Cassidy Hammons drove down the middle of the field and outplayed the goalkeeper to find an open net for the goal in the 15th minute.
 
Just over two minutes later, Lexi Pyette found herself with the ball in open space in front of the goal and buried the ball past the goalkeeper to give the Saints a 2-0 lead that would hold through the half.
 
"We started off a little sluggish today, and I think that's a combination of things," head coach David Thorvilson said. "Obviously, a midweek game is a little different than normal, we're coming off two very difficult games this weekend, and then also having to have preparation for another conference game on Sunday."
 
In the 62nd minute a cross deflected off of a Trinity Lutheran defender to Michaela Kueffler who buried the ball in the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.
 
"One of the things we talked about at halftime was we wanted try to do everything in the second half in about 15- to 20-minute spurts," Thorvilson said. "We wanted to continue to put numbers in, continue to keep the pace of the game high, and not let bad habits sneak in. Sometimes in a game like this, you're a little stronger than the other team and you can get away with things; we wanted to not give in to those bad habits."
 
With a comfortable 3-0 lead Thorvilson used the opportunity to rotate players in and avoid injuries. Twenty-six Saints played in the match and 10 Carroll players tallied shots. The Saints outshot Trinity Lutheran 15-3 and the Eagles mustered just one shot on goal to the Saints nine.
 
Carroll tallied nine corner kicks while Trinity Lutheran didn't earn a single corner.
 
Jamie Carter and Dani Turley combined for the shutout with Carter playing 56 minutes and Turley played 34 minutes.
 
Carroll plays host to the University of Great Falls Sunday and Thorvilson was excited to see some good things in the 3-0 win.
 
"We continue to do a lot of good things, and are really building for the next match," Thorvilson said. "It's a big game for us. They're a very good program and they've been very close games that we've played with them the last few years, so we've gotta be ready."
 
The Saints at Argos play at 1 p.m. Sunday at Nelson Stadium.