Box Score Colorado College took an important step toward its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance with a dominating 14-5 victory over Augustana College on Saturday afternoon at Washburn Field.
 
The Tigers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2011 when they won 15 games in a row and picked up an important victory over an opponent they are competing against for a Pool B berth to the national playoffs.
 
Sophomore attackman Robert Stern torched the Vikings with a career-high five goals and set up others.
 
"Robert is really playing tougher," head coach Sean Woods said. "He has a big presence out there, wants the ball on his stick, and he's learned to do it in a very intimidating way. He allows us to do some different things on offense that can be really dangerous as the year goes on."
 
Junior attackman Austin Davie scored three times as CC finished with 14 goals for the fourth game in a row.
 
Davie and Stern combined for six tallies to help Colorado College open a commanding 9-3 lead just 34 seconds into the second half.
 
A pair of markers from senior midfielder Alexander Crescenti kept Augustana within five after three quarters, but the Tigers scored the final four goals to wrap up the decisive victory.
 
CC was even more impressive in their defensive zone, causing 15 turnovers while allowing only three even-strength goals.
 
Sophomore defender Riley Hoffman set a career-high with four caused turnovers, while senior Tim Jenkins added three more.
 
"We caused a lot of turnovers and took care of the looks they showed us on film," Jenkins said. "Augustana is a tournament team and there were massive Pool B implications, so hopefully we separated from the pack today. It was a great win for our resume."
 
As a team, the Tigers caused 15 turnovers and surrendered only three even-strength goals.
 
CC finished with a 57-20 edge in total shots and a 39-26 edge in ground balls.
 
The Tigers got a big-time performance from freshman midfielder Parker Woo, who won 10 of 12 faceoffs and grabbed a game-high eight ground balls.
 
"Parker and Jackson Kaplan gave us a lot of extra possessions," Woods said. "We scored a goal and got the ball right back and that really gave us a lot of momentum in the second half.
 
Chase Murphy made eight of his 10 saves during the second half when the Vikings tried to mount a comeback. It marked the 24th time in his career that Murphy stopped double-digit shots.
 
 
Senior netminder Jack Peters finished with 19 saves for the visitors, who slipped to 0-2.
 
"It was a huge game for the national picture because Augustana was in the NCAA Tournament," Woods said. "I think we made a statement by beating them by nine goals."
 
CC returns to action next Sunday against No. 13 Roanoke College.
 
"We have a great team in Roanoke coming here next week," Jenkins said. "That game has been in the back of our minds and now we get to turn the page and really start thinking about it.
 
"It will be the biggest home game I've ever been a part of and hopefully we can get a signature win."