The Northwest Catholic girls soccer team decisively defeated Northwestern in the second round of the CIAC Class M tournament on Tuesday.

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The No. 12 seed Northwest Catholic Lions dominated the No. 28 Northwestern Highlanders 8-0 in the second round of the Class M State tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

The Lions struck early, with Allie Loveless’ perfect cross into the box, setting up Maeve Staunton for a header just five minutes in. Staunton added her second goal after a long pass from Loveless leading to a breakaway, sending the Lions into halftime up 2-0.

In the second half, the Lions settled into their rhythm, showing patience and building quality attacks. Their third goal began with a defensive stop by Emma Ahlstrand, who passed to Olivia Roberts. Roberts beat a defender and found Ashlyn Sklenka in the middle, who then threaded a pass to Samantha Casper for the goal.

Soon after, the Lions won a corner. Loveless crossed to Staunton, whose header was kept alive by Madeline Rudy before Mikartny Hart finished the play, making it 4-0.

The Lions’ fifth goal was the result of well-executed team play with five different players connecting passes before Casper set up Mya Montoney. The sixth goal came after a free kick, when Sklenka pounced on a loose ball and scored in the lower left corner. Loveless then assisted Staunton on a well-timed run for her hat trick, and Sklenka added her second goal from long range, again set up by Loveless, who finished with four assists.

With this impressive 8-0 win, Northwest Catholic advances to the quarterfinals, where they will host No. 13 Stonington on Friday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. Stonington earned their spot with a 2-0 victory over No. 29 Tolland.

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