St. Catherine's University: 1-0

The girls faced a tough opponent this Tuesday in their match against the St. Kate’s Wildcats, as we went into yet another overtime game. This was a well fought game from both ends, as the girls began to create some good possession and really started to work the ball side to side a bit more, with senior goalkeeper Caroline Olson coming up with some big saves to keep the Gusties in the thriller match.

After an injury early in the second half, the girls were forced to move around a bit more into positions, and hats off to them for stepping into new roles well and with confidence, with senior Heather Goff sliding back into an outside defender position and Jana Elliot moving into our attacking midfielder position in her place.

Although the girls battled all game in a very back-and-fourth match, it unfortunately came down to a Wildcat free kick by Kailee Katt which was an absolute cracker into the top corner of the goal, narrowly escaping Caroline in the net.

We’re very proud of the girls, however, for their ability to continue battling through these overtime games, as it’s easy to overlook the strain it takes to play a battle of a game for a full 90 minutes as our bench is currently thin with injuries, but the girls are continuing to fight which we cannot praise them enough for, and their confidence that our conference win is soon in sight!

Women’s Soccer Suffers 1-0 Overtime Loss To St. Catherine

Posted on October 14th, 2014 by Nick Hoelmer

St. Peter, Minn. – After two hard fought periods in regulation that resulted in a 0-0 tie, the Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team was hoping for some overtime fortune that has eluded them so far this season. However, St. Catherine was able to take advantage of a timely free kick in the first overtime session that resulted in a 1-0 victory for the Wildcats on Tuesday afternoon at the Gustie Soccer Field. With the loss, Gustavus drops to 0-5-2 in the MIAC and 1-9-3 overall, while St. Catherine moves to 3-4-0 in the MIAC and 6-6-1 overall.

“We had our chances again today but just could not capitalize,” said head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “It was another match where we worked hard, but we just couldn’t find the goal. It’s another frustrating loss for us, but credit certainly needs to be given to St. Kate’s for their solid play.”

The two teams battled throughout the first two halves and each had their opportunities. But solid play from Gustie goalkeeper Caroline Olson (Sr., York, Penn.) and Wildcat keeper Danielle Mendez kept both teams scoreless and forced overtime.

In its fourth overtime period this season, Gustavus was outshot by St. Catherine 5-0, including the game-winning goal from Wildcat Kailee Katt on a free kick outside the box in the 98th minute. The goal was Katt’s first of the season and the match was only her sixth of the entire 2014 season.

“I was disappointed by how flat we came out in overtime,” said Burnett Kurie. “We just haven’t quite found that edge that we need yet this season and that has really hurt us, especially in close contests like this. That being said, we have four matches left in our season, including three against members of our conference, and we are not going to quit. We’ll continue to stay motivated and hungry to win and positively represent Gustavus. There is a lot we can take away from this season and a lot that our younger players can learn.”

Olson finished with one goal allowed and made eight saves in 98:33 and Sophie Leininger (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.) had two shots to lead the Gusties.

Gustavus will have the remainder of the week to practice before taking on Macalester College (1-4-1 MIAC, 5-6-1 overall) on Saturday afternoon in a 1 p.m. match at the Gustie Soccer Field.