Nikki Llewellyn is making a habit of game-winning goals.

The sophomore midfielder scored the only goal in the Lions’ Oct. 5 game against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats.

The shot not only increased Llewellyn’s goal-scoring streak to five straight games, but it bumped the Lions into first place in the MIAA.

Before the game, the Lions were tied with SBU for second in the conference, behind first-place Washburn.

The assist on Llewellyn’s goal was provided by Lauren Kurelac, junior forward, on a corner kick.

“It was perfectly put. Nikki didn’t have to do much but get in the way and knock it in,” said women’s head soccer coach Trevor Wachsman.

Wachsman said his back-to-back MIAA player of the week, Llewellyn, knows she isn’t the only reason for the team’s success.

“She’s a strong player, obviously,” Wachsman said. “But she realizes that it not only comes from her it can be contributed to her teammates also.”

Wachsman was also proud of the way the rest of his team played.

“I was real happy with what we did both defensively and how we attacked to create some good opportunities for ourselves,” Wachsman said.

The win made it only the second time SBU had lost this season, although they have lost one game since then.

“They may still feel like they shouldn’t have lost either of them. But I would tend to disagree with that,” Wachsman said. “But it was an interesting game, there were a lot of balls shot off the crossbars and posts for both teams.

“So the score could have easily been 2-1.”

The Lions record is now 7-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in the MIAA. Junior goalkeeper Kaney Tyler also contributed to the win by making four saves.

The Lions now face four home games in a row. The first will be tonight at 7 p.m. against the University of Central Missouri, followed by a Sunday game at 1 p.m. against Truman State.

“Both of them are currently ahead of us in the region rankings. We also tied both of those teams on the road earlier this season,” Wachsman said. “So I’d expect both to be good competitive games, they’ll be fun games to watch.”