MONMOUTH, ILL. — After an unusually long break from competition in the middle of September, the Central College women's soccer team picked up where it left off by blanking Monmouth College (Ill.) 1-0 on Tuesday.

The Dutch (7-1-1) had to wait 10 days since their last match on September 17 to continue its winning streak, which now stands at seven. The time off was beneficial according to coach Mike Kobylinski, but it also had some consequences.

"It took us a little bit to get our feet underneath us," he said. "It was nice to gut out a close win on the road like that."

The game's lone goal was tallied by sophomore midfielder Lauren Vahlkamp (Quincy, Ill., Notre Dame) in the 74th minute.  

"She hit an absolute peach of a shot," Kobylinski said. "I'm so glad she scored because she's had such a great week of training."

Vahlkamp's goal was created by a ball in from freshman Mikaela Erickson (Spring Lake, Mich., Western Christian HS) who put five of her six shot attempts on frame.

"When she gets her shoulders in front of the ball, she can serve us a great ball," Kobylinski said. "Not a lot of players can shoot the way she does."

Lauren Goeke (sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., Parkway South HS) got the start at left back, the first of her season. The starter for most of the season at that spot, Kayla Dowell (junior, Cedar Falls), returned to the lineup in the second half after missing time due to injury.

"Lauren played phenomenally well," Kobylinski said. "It was nice to be able to get Kayla back today. She played really well, too."

The Dutch open Iowa Conference action this Friday at Coe College for a 5 p.m. match. Central was defeated in Cedar Rapids 1-0 on a rainy October night in 2015 and will look to avenge that loss Friday.

"We're excited to go back to Coe and play as hard as we can," Kobylinski said. "The weather will be a lot nicer this year. We'll have to play well to get a good result at Coe, but we're ready to get the conference season going because we are doing some good things right now."