Ebeling, Huseby combine for eight goals as Owatonna thumps Northfield

Having to open the season with Farmington, Minneapolis and Lakeville South can certainly test just were a team is at.
That was the case for Owatonna, but head coach Dan Paur noted that those are the matchups they want despite the outcomes.
Friday night at OHS, the Huskies managed to get into the win column in a big way.
Led by Laura Ebeling and Jade Huseby’s four goals, Owatonna’s offense exploded for a 17-4 win over Northfield at OHS Stadium in Big Nine Conference action.
“All three phases of the game, offense, defense and our transition games were all really, really good,” added Paur. “We were crisp. We played a lot of offense which was something we talked about, giving our defense a break.”
When Paur stated that they wanted to give their defense a break, the message soaked into his players.
Northfield struggled to generate any penetration into the Huskies’ zone for much of the first half, often being smothered by Owatonna’s defense once the ball even inched toward the zone. In fact, Northfield would register just one shot on goal in the first 25 minutes of the game. Paur noted that the team’s transition defense however, was the big reason as to why the Huskies were rarely tested.
“The transition game was really the key and it’s going to be the key to our whole season,” he added.
As for the Huskies’ offense, it was just short of unstoppable.
In the first three minutes of the contest, Ebeling was able to weave her way through the Raiders’ defense to notch the first goal of the contest.  Ebeling and Huseby were the catalysts for the Huskies offense tonight, orchestrating ball movement and penetrating when the opportunity was presented. She would add the second of her four goals later in the second half. Huseby would also have two of her four goals in the first half as well as three assists.
Just seconds later, junior Kenna West was able to knife her way through to net the second Owatonna goal. Northfield struggled with the speed of Owatonna on the edges all contest, as West was able to speed past defenders. Paur said that it was something that was set up in the gameplan heading into the matchup.
“We wanted to wear them down and I think that hard first half, we really came at them and came at them which allowed for more offensive possessions,” he added.
Northfield managed to get their only two goals of the first half inside two minutes as Seykora was unable to field an awkward angled shot. Sekyora had a relatively quiet evening, facing a total of 8 shots.
Owatonna took an 8-2 lead in the second half and never looked back, as Ebeling would net her final two goals of the game. Amy Oldenburg, Skylar Eaton and Cassie Bremer all recorded goals for Owatonna while West, Lauren Arthur and Sophie Amundson each registered two.
Owatonna will host Rochester Mayo at OHS Stadium Saturday night at 7:15 p.m.