In what felt like a stroll at times, the Northwest Christian Crusaders breezed to a 5-1 victory over the Gilbert Christian Knights.

After first breaking through with a 20th minute goal from Tatum Berkwitt, the floodgates seemed to open for the top seed.

“In all honesty, we just dug in and got after it and that was the big piece for us,” Crusaders coach Jeffrey Penzone said.

In the dying moments of the first half, Ellie Johannes tucked away a penalty, and Beasley Floyd buried from close range to send the favorites in 3-0 up at the break.

“We know that we haven’t necessarily won the game yet, and we keep that in mind,” Johannes said of their mindset at the time. “Our coach reminds us at half-time, we say no mercy, get as far ahead as we can and just keep fighting.”

Just a minute into the second half, and it was clear that mercy wasn’t coming. Makenzi Wisely set up a free kick at least 40 yards out, and her hanging ball lobbed the goalkeeper who was instead expecting a ball to the edge of the area.

“Honestly I think since we were up by a little bit, it was just kind of like slow down, get the ball ready,” Wisely said. “I honestly just wanted to hit it to Ellie Johannes who was up top so that she can get the overhead ball, but it just lofted in which was pretty cool.”

Johannes later added an additional goal from a tight angle, before Sarah Johnson netted a curving consolation goal for the Knights.

“We’re young,” Gilbert Christian coach Jay Feely said. “We’ve got nine freshmen. I think we were at the beginning a little bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment and they were more aggressive. They went to the ball better and they took it to us from the beginning of the game.”

Now, Northwest Christian looks to hold onto its unbeaten season with a win over Scottsdale Christian.

“There’s not a whole lot of stuff [we can do for tomorrow],” Penzone said. “We’ve got to have a good meal in the morning. The girls have got to get some good rest and that’s the bottom line.”