For a moment, Margaret Ellis stood alone.
And for many years more, she will stand apart.
Ellis lifted her hands to the sky in jubilation Saturday afternoon at Blackstock West Field before she was mobbed by her teammates after scoring her second goal of the game against Kenyon College - her 72nd of her career.
While many can be attributed to her success, she is DePauw's greatest scorer in school history and now stands alone atop the offensive record books.
With three goals, the senior from St. Louis, Mo., broke DePauw's 25-year-old scoring record held by Colleen Konicek '88 and led the Tigers (16-1, 13-0 NCAC) to a 4-1 victory over the Lords (8-9, 7-6 NCAC). Her record-tying goal came in the 11th minute on an assist from sophomore Maggie Campbell, and then she scored unassisted five minutes later.
Two weeks ago, Ellis broke the all-time points record for DePauw as well. She has accomplished both feats in just three years because she transferred from Div. I Richmond University before the beginning of her sophomore year.
"It's bittersweet. I'm glad it went so well," Ellis said after the game. "I was so glad to get those two in the first half, it was like this huge weight had been lifted, and I definitely just got to enjoy it."
It was playmaking that not only produced Ellis' first goal, but the team's first goal of the game by senior Bridgette Shamleffer. Campbell corralled the ball at the top of the scoring circle and flicked a pass to Shamleffer, who snuck behind the Kenyon defense and slotted it to the left of the Lords goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, it was Campbell again who this time received a pass from Ellis on the right side of the scoring circle to draw the attention of the Kenyon defense. Near the end line, she spotted Ellis open at the top of the scoring circle.
The defense was slow to react to the pinpoint passing, and Ellis lifted a shot to the upper left corner to tie the all-time record.
"I'm more of an assister than a shooter myself," Campbell said. "I took it into the side of the circle, and a lot of the times you don't have an angle to shoot from the left or right of the goal. I heard Margaret call for it, and I knew she was wide-open, and I knew there was something that needed to get done, so I passed her the ball, and it worked out."
Added Ellis: "She saw it and could have done it herself, but she wanted me to get it, and it was great."
Less than five minutes later, Ellis was in the right place at the right time when a blocked shot-on-goal came out to her, and she tussled with the Lords' goalkeeper until she poked the ball behind her.
"I just turned around, and it was like everything was in slow motion," Ellis said. "That was the highlight of my career for sure."
She wasn't done, either.
In the second half, she received the ball just inside the scoring circle from sophomore Kate Jovanovic and riffled a high shot into the upper left corner for a hat trick and her 73rd goal of her career.
The Tigers did allow one goal with two minutes remaining, the first after seven-straight shutouts. Overall, DePauw outshot Kenyon 15-3 in another game that featured accurate stick-to-stick passing.
"Even though we've been winning, they haven't been satisfied and have shown up every day ready to work and have continued to get better," Wills said. "It's better spacing in the circle, and it's allowed us open shots on goal, and we're moving the ball up on goal and making passes."
DePauw ends its regular season undefeated in the NCAC and riding a 16-game win streak. The Tigers are seeded No. 1 in the conference and will host the first NCAC semifinal game Wednesday on a time to-be-decided and an opponent that will be determined Monday.
"We have figured out that not one person can do anything," Ellis said. "When we go together and go quick, it almost feels like you're untouchable. We make it work, and it's a complete team effort."