The South Tama County/East Marshall girls’ soccer team entered Monday’s match at Marshalltown having allowed 6.9 goals per game so far this season.

MHS sophomore Claire Bonzer only needed one.

Bonzer scored two goals and assisted on the other while becoming the school’s single-season record-holder for goals, leading the Bobcats to a 3-0 shutout of the visiting Trojans on Monday night at Leonard Cole Field.

Bonzer’s icebreaking goal in the eighth minute of the match broke the tie with McKenna Coleman and Lissa Duff, and her second one was icing on the team’s fourth win in its last five contests.

Bonzer’s 20 goals so far this season ranks her second in Class 3A and now first in the Bobcat record books.

“I’m proud of myself obviously because I’ve been working hard and I deserve it,” Bonzer said after the match. “I knew I was only one away, they had told me, but I hope I can increase it more and make it harder to beat.”

The Bobcats (7-5) have four regular-season matches remaining — all against teams with sub-.500 records. One of Marshalltown’s greatest challenges this season, however, has been playing above the level of its respective opponent on a given night regardless of the talent gap.

“Every time that something’s not going right, it’s the communication,” said MHS head coach Kameron Nehring. “This is something we’ve got to figure out starting earlier rather than later. Just being able to be aware of where your teammates are, even a simple hand (pointing) where you want the ball is a gamechanger.”

That’s what happened when Bonzer assisted on Marshalltown’s second goal of the night. Leading 1-0, Itzabella Meraz’s high-arching pass into the offensive third was redirected into the corner by STC/EM defender Keylee Holloway. Bonzer chased it down, turned and saw Meraz on a path toward the penalty area with her hand out in front of her.

Bonzer put the ball at Meraz’s feet and she fired a curling right-footer that found space between Trojan goalkeeper Annaleigh Davenport and the far post for a 2-0 lead.

STC/EM (0-10) didn’t get its first shot of the match until the 36th minute, and the Trojans tallied just three shots over the course of the contest. They have been outscored 65-1 this spring.

Marshalltown outshot the Trojans 35-3, unofficially, with Davenport pulling in 16 saves. Bobcat junior goalkeeper Sophia Valdez Chavez recorded just one save in the team’s third shutout victory of the season.

Bonzer registered the third goal of the contest with 25:38 remaining, popping a low left-footed shot inside the far post off a pass from Meraz.

Katie Gomez Reyes assisted on Bonzer’s first goal and nearly got one of her own. Gomez Reyes and Gennese Tellez both hit the crossbar above Davenport on back-to-back shots eight seconds apart midway through the first half.

“I feel like we had a lot of good shots, but our positions got switched up and that messed us up a little bit,” Bonzer said. “I think the wind was a little bit weird because it made our shots weird. I missed a whole bunch of shots. I think we had like 30-something shots and only three went in.”

Nehring took the opportunity in a low-pressure situation against a winless STC/EM squad to try players in new spots, both building toward the future while trying to honor her seniors. Senior defender Jorja Janssen and wing Maelee Corona both saw time up top in an attempt to find scoring opportunities for them.

“The rest of the season is sort of looking forward into what can come next year,” Nehring said, “knowing that there’s a lot of good competition coming up from the eighth-grade class. So it’s about being able to be versatile and not always just playing your one spot.

“Being able to find everyone in a different spot is going to be huge the rest of the season until regionals start.”

Marshalltown plays its final regular-season road game tonight, traveling to face Des Moines North for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Grubb Stadium.

“Some of the teams we play for the rest of the season are OK,” Bonzer said, “but we can definitely win against them. We need to show up and be there.”