Thursday, September 27, 2012

Second MIAC Victory on the Road for the Gusties

Cartony Nets Two as Gusties Pick Up Another "W"


Playing under the lights at night has a unique feel to it, and definitely changes dimensions of the game.  On Wednesday night it helped the Gusties to shine.  Coming out strong, the ladies in Black and Gold controlled the pace of the game, using their possession to ping the ball up the field for numerous opportunities on net.  The one and two touch poise was exciting to watch, and dangerous against St. Mary's.  After a few attempts on through balls, the ball continued to run out of bounds on the fast turf.  Tam Meuwissen took control; she drove the ball end-line and slotted it back to Amanda Cartony at the top of the 18 yard line.  Cartony took a touch to set up her laser of a shot that pinged off the far post and into the net for the her first goal.  The Gusties would maintain possession for the majority of the remaining half and held strong on defense whenever the Cardinal's threatened.

A quick breakdown early in the second half proved costly when St. Mary's was awarded a free kick right outside the 18 yard box.  A loose player on the far right would come up big when the served ball came back across the goal to her feet, and she would knock it home to tie the game.  This is when the true resiliency of the Gustie's came out, fighting hard to put another goal in the net, the team pressed on, attacking their back-line and the goalkeeper.  It would again be Cartony to find the back of the net on a one-timer from Heather Goff's pass.  The Gusties would hold on for the 2-1 victory in the end, improving their MIAC record to 2-2.

Women’s Soccer Prevails In Second Straight One-Goal Match 2-1 Over Saint Mary’s
Posted on September 27th, 2012 by Tyler Grey

Gustavus junior Estee Berg controls the ball in the Gusties' 2-1 win over Saint Mary's on Wednesday night.
Gustavus junior Estee Berg controls the ball in the Gusties' 2-1 win over Saint Mary's on Wednesday night.

Winona, Minn. - For the second straight match, the Gustie women’s soccer team escaped a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match with a narrow one goal victory.  Gustavus defeated Saint Mary’s University 2-1 on Wednesday night to pick up its second MIAC victory of the season.  Amanda Cartony (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) scored twice to lead the Gusties to victory.  It was the second time this season Cartony has scored multiple goals in a match.

“We showed a lot of resilience and fight in tonight’s game,” remarked Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  ”We came out strong in the first half moving the ball well, at times the best we have all season.  We had moments of brilliance, moving the ball one and two touch around the field.”

It didn’t take long for the Gustie women to get on the scoreboard.  In the 18th minute, Tam Meuwissen (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.) took the ball deep on the left wing and sent a low cross into the box where Cartony put it away.  After a touch to control the pass, the junior sent the ball on a low drive off the post and into the net to put Gustavus up 1-0.

“Amanda was fantastic tonight,” stated Burnett-Kurie of Cartony’s play.  ”Her creativity on the ball is so fun to watch and her ability to create dangerous scoring opportunities is special.”

Saint Mary’s was able to tie the game six minutes in to the second half when Sloane Kurumoto scored on assists by Bethany Schmidt and Tessa Scanion, but Cartony was too much to handle for the Cardinals, scoring in the 75th minute to seal the win for the Gusties.  On her second goal, she one-timed a Heather Goff (So., Eagan, Minn.) pass from inside the 18-foot line to beat Cardinal goalkeeper Miranda Halling high for what proved to be the game-winner that left final count at 2-1 in favor of Gustavus.

The Gustie women held the upper hand in shots taken with 18 compared to Saint Mary’s 12.  Meuwissen and Goff each registered an assist on the night, while keeper Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) tallied six saves.

With the win, Gustavus improves to 4-4-0 overall and 2-2-0 in MIAC play.  The Cardinals fall to 0-9-0 overall, 0-4-0 in the MIAC.

The Gusties will take their two-straight conference wins into Saturday afternoon’s battle with Carleton in Northfield.  Kick off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

“We head into Saturday with some great confidence,” stated coach Burnett-Kurie of Saturday.  ”We feel that we can compete with any team in the conference, and we can battle back if we lose the lead. Knowing we possess that resilience is critical heading into the rest of conference play.”


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