Jade Bordeleau's Hat-Trick Leads NCS to Victory Over SMU
Jade Bordeleau tore through the match like it belonged to her.
The NCS forward produced a ruthless attacking display, firing a hat-trick past SMU and driving her side to a high-scoring win in a game that never settled into anything calm or controlled. Every time SMU thought they had a foothold, Bordeleau and the NCS front line ripped it away.
Bordeleau sets the tone
From the outset, NCS played on the front foot. Bordeleau struck early, finishing off a move built by the sharp combination of Daisy Duda and Madison Casteen. The pair worked the ball into space, and Bordeleau did the rest, punishing SMU’s back line with a clinical finish.
She repeated the trick not long after, again on the end of work from Duda and Casteen. Same scorer, same torment. SMU struggled to track her movement, and NCS smelled weakness.
NCS then added to the tally through a team effort, with a pair of goals credited to NCS TEAM as the pressure finally broke SMU’s defensive shape. The scoreboard began to tilt heavily, and SMU were hanging on.
SMU fight back from the spot
SMU’s lifeline came from 12 yards. Brooke Bunton stepped up for a penalty and buried it, then did it again with another spot kick, showing composure in a chaotic contest. Her brace from the spot dragged SMU back into the game and briefly shifted the mood.
Kaia Samuelsen Elverum tried to add to that momentum with an effort from distance, but her shot sailed over the top. SMU had flickers of threat, yet NCS refused to loosen their grip.
NCS keep coming
NCS continued to fire at will. Emily Wong flashed an effort wide. Bordeleau sent another shot over. Mana Nakata twice went close, one effort curling just over the top left and another driven toward the top right, only for SMU goalkeeper Aubrey Brown to produce a strong save.
The warning signs kept coming. The breakthrough, again, came from the same source.
Bordeleau completed her hat-trick with a finish supplied by Yuna Aoki, who began to dictate from deeper areas. Aoki picked the pass, Bordeleau finished it with authority. Different provider, same outcome.
Duda then tried her luck from range, sending a shot over the bar, but by then NCS were in full control of territory and tempo.
Roberts joins the party
With SMU reeling, Erica Roberts added her name to the scoresheet. She struck once to stretch the lead, then found the net again to underline NCS’s dominance in the final third. Her movement between the lines caused constant problems, and SMU’s defenders struggled to stay compact under wave after wave of pressure.
Roberts kept pressing for more. She forced Brown into another save with a low effort toward the bottom left corner. Katie Richter followed with a similar attempt, also denied by Brown, who was left to do damage control behind a stretched back line.
SMU show late resistance
SMU still had their moments. Kaylee Noble tested NCS goalkeeper Riley Pickels with a shot down the middle that was safely gathered. Noble then found the finish she wanted, scoring to give SMU a late boost and a deserved reward for her persistence in attack.
NCS, though, never truly lost command. Substitute and squad players continued to fire: Antonella Mazziotto sent a shot over the bar, while Nakata stayed aggressive, driving another effort high. At the other end, Bunton tried to add to her penalty brace with a strike from distance, but it flew over, summing up SMU’s open-play frustrations.
Lineups and the balance of power
SMU started with Brown in goal, backed by defenders Jessica Osborne, Libby Jannereth, and Julianne Richter, with Nicole Stryker, Zoe Parkhurst, and Abigail Goldean involved in the defensive and midfield mix. Bunton, Noble, Kaia Samuelsen Elverum, Maleeya Martin, and Kamiya Beck carried the attacking burden.
NCS lined up with Pickels in goal and a solid base of Alex Mohr, Aoki, and Nakata. Roberts, Casteen, Carly Montgomery, Bordeleau, Duda, Emily Wong, and Mary Frances Symmes formed a dynamic unit that never stopped running at SMU.
In the end, the story belonged to NCS’s relentless front line and, above all, to Bordeleau’s hat-trick. SMU found goals from the spot and a late strike from Noble, but they spent most of the match chasing shadows.
If NCS can sustain this kind of cutting edge, with Bordeleau and Roberts in this sort of mood, who is going to slow them down?
