Ottawa sophomore Georgia Kirkpatrick wasted little time in getting her team going in Saturday’s match against rival Streator at King Field.

Just 45 seconds in, Kirkpatrick captured the ball near midfield, dribbled through the Bulldogs’ backline, and put a shot from 15 yards out in the back of the net.

It was the first of five goals netted by the Pirates standout in an eventual 7-1 victory as the hosts improved to 3-0 on the season.

“I think we are doing super good,” said Kirkpatrick, who now has 12 goals on the season. “I feel like the chemistry is very good and we are improving on the fundamentals. I felt like we did a very good job of controlling the action and also stringing together good passes.

“For me today, I really just wanted to create good chances. I always want to have a good balance of looking for my opportunities, but also opportunities for my teammates. I was able to take advantage of some chances to score, but I also felt like I was able to put my teammates into some good situations as well.”

Kirkpatrick then scored in the third minute on a 25-yard strike and in the ninth minute on a shot from the top of the penalty box that deflected in off the post. In the 13th, Kirkpatrick’s corner kick found Taylor Brandt all alone for a close range shot that found the back of the net.

Then at the midway point of the half, Kirkpatrick scored on a 15-yard strike from the left wing off an assist from Kendall Hardee to make it 5-0 at halftime.

“This was, especially in the first half, the best we’ve looked in our positioning we’ve looked through our three matches,” Ottawa coach Kevin Olesen said. “We have some girls in new spots this season, so they are having to adjust, but they’ve done a great job. Really all match long I thought we moved well, with and without the ball, kept good spacing and really communicated well.

“We did an excellent job of putting passes into space. I feel like we have a number of really talented players that if we can get them the ball in open space, they can create good chances for us.

“Georgia is a special player, and you saw that today. She’s a solid goal scorer, but what is great about her is she’s also just as good at putting passes in spots that gives her teammates good chances.”

In the opening 11 minutes of the second half Kirkpatrick and Brandt both scored, the former on a 20-yard shot and the latter on a 30-yard direct kick.

Streator (0-3-2) snapped the shutout with 22 seconds remaining when a corner kick by Audrey Arambula deflected off an Ottawa defender and into the net.

Ottawa keeper Shaelyn Miller made two saves, while Streator keeper Olivia Brandenburg was credited with 14 saves. Ottawa held a 25-3 advantage in total shots.

“This was exactly what our match with La Salle-Peru (a 7-1 loss) was like just over a week ago,” Streator coach J.T. Huey said. “This is a young and inexperienced group, so they haven’t learned yet that every match, no matter your opponent, you have to come out ready to right from the start.

“We didn’t do a good job of containing in the first half, just gave Ottawa way too much space. We talked about it at halftime and the girls did a better job in the second half. But the key for us will be learning from the mistakes we make and also not being scared to make mistakes. We’ve made strides with each match we’ve had and eventually the good stretches will outlast the bad ones.”

Both sides are back in action on Monday as Ottawa opens Interstate 8 Conference play at Kaneland, while Streator hosts Princeton.