OTTUMWA, Iowa - The defending NJCAA Division 1 national champions picked up where they left off last season, earning a pair of wins over two ranked opponents.

The Reivers took care of business in their opening match against last season's district championship opponent, Illinois Central.  Sophomore forward Nicole Navarro Aguilar led the way with a hat trick, scoring in the 9th, 18th, and 62nd minutes.  Freshman Oruha Hayashi assisted on the final two of Navarro's goals while also finding the back of the net.  Marie Quentel, Maria Clara, and Berniece Garcia rounded out the scoring. IWCC outshot the Cougars 20-4, goalkeeper Bella Washington faced just one shot on goal in her 73 minutes in net.

Game two on Saturday afternoon saw the team jump out to an early lead, scoring three goals in the first 12 minutes of the match and four overall in the first half.  Marie Quentel added a fifth goal on a shot to the upper 90 on the left side after a backheel pass from Vinyet Clua.

With the victory, Iowa Western has won 20 games in a row dating back to last season's national championship run.  This breaks the previous mark set in 2007 when the team went unbeaten and untied from September 8th to November 16th and was upended in the national title game by CCBC Catonsville.

Iowa Western will be back in action on Monday, August 21st at the Reiver Sports Complex at 3:00 pm vs Hastings College.