Thursday was a good day for Eastern Illinois women’s soccer.

Not only did the team pick up a comfortable 3-0 win over the University of Illinois-Springfield, but Eastern had control of the game throughout thanks to scoring three goals in the opening 20 minutes. Eastern, which had only scored two goals in its first four games, mustered three goals before the half-hour mark.

And all those goals came from sophomore forward Alex Tetteh.

Eastern head coach Dirk Bennett changed the attacking focus to better take advantage of Tetteh’s 5-foot-11 stature, and it worked out in their favor.

“She’s been playing so well this season,” Bennett said after the game. “She’s a sophomore now, and she’s looking like an older, more experienced player. The goals just haven’t come for her yet.”

Tetteh could not be stopped against Illinois-Springfield. She put the Panthers ahead for good with her first goal, a header on the other end of a cross from junior midfielder Kate Germano.

Her second goal was very similar to her first, except it was freshman defender Colleen Bauer’s cross that she got her head to.

Already having scored two and with still plenty of time remaining, all eyes were on Tetteh to complete the hat trick.

When she was brought down in the penalty area in the 20th minute, she calmly walked over to grab the ball and put it on the spot.

One on one with the goalkeeper from 12 yards out, Tetteh drove the ball low into the bottom corner. The conversion from the penalty spot completed her hat trick, the first by an Eastern player since Kristin Germann scored three goals against Cleveland State on Aug. 26, 2012.

Tetteh only played 43 minutes against Illinois-Springfield, being subbed off shortly after she scored her third goal and coming back on to play the last 20 or so minutes. Still, she recorded five shots, which is the most by an Eastern player in any game so far this season.

The Plainfield native shared her thoughts on scoring those three goals, reflecting on her goal production so far this season

“Last few games I’ve kind of been in a little bit of a drought,” Tetteh said. “So just getting a goal on the board was good for me.”

Tetteh’s goals tied the amount she scored during the entirety of last season. She hopes to continue her growth as the season goes on.

“This kind of gives me a confidence boost right now, so just keeping that up and just keep getting shots on goal,” Tetteh said.

Senior midfielder and captain Avery Richardson has seen Tetteh’s development the whole way since Tetteh got to Eastern. Richardson said that Tetteh deserved this kind of performance, and her growth as a player mainly stems from her hard work in practice and on her own.

“I think that this is a long time coming,” Richardson said. “I’m excited to see what she can do.”

Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.