Out Battled

Gustavus Suffers 5-0 Loss in Northfield

The Gusties fell to the Carleton Knights today.  The Black and Gold fell victim to two quick goals, one 52 seconds into the first half, and the second at the same mark of the second half.  Though the Gustie's held the Knights to just the one goal in the first half, the second goal proved much more deflating as the team could never quite battle back into the game.  A few forward rushes both halves had promise and created a few dangerous opportunities, but nothing the Gusties could capitalize on.  

With optimism looking forward to more conference games, it has been proven time and time again that any team in the MIAC can be beaten on any day.  Coach Burnett-Kurie said following the defeat, "even good teams lose, it is how they bounce back" that makes the difference.  Gustavus looks ahead to Hamline on Wednesday, when the Gustie's will be back on their home Gustie Soccer Field at 4:00 p.m. to face the Pipers.

Women’s Soccer Falls 5-0 To Carleton

Posted on September 29th, 2012 by Tyler Grey

Northfield, Minn. - The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team suffered a 5-0 loss to Carleton on Saturday afternoon.  Five different players scored goals for the Knights, four of which came in the second half, that proved to be too much for the Gusties to overcome.  With the loss, Gustavus moves to 4-5-0 on the season, and 2-3-0 in the MIAC.  With the win, Carleton improves to 6-3-2 overall, and 2-2-1 in the MIAC.

“We came out flat today,” said head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  “We were reactive instead of proactive and when you do that, it is tough to be successful.”

The Gusties gave up the first goal 0:54 seconds into the match when Annika Ord took a pass from Ellie Wilson and finished off the left post for the first and only goal of the first half.  The Gusties had opportunities throughout the remainder of the first 45 minutes of play, but were unable to capitalize.

The second half was all Carleton, as the Knights tacked on four more goals from four different players to push the final score to 5-0.  Karlie Haug, Bailey Ulbricht, Madelaine Horn, and Alexandra Guy all scored in the final period for Carleton.

“Everyone loses games, but what makes a team good is how they bounce back for the next practice and game,” stated Burnett-Kurie.  “There are going to be times this season when things don’t go our way, but it’s keeping our heads up and continuing to fight to reach the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season that is most important.”

The Gustie women will get their next opportunity to work towards achieving those goals next Wednesday in St. Peter when they host Hamline University at the Gustie Soccer Field at 4:00 p.m.

Box Score

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.

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.”

Box Score

Women's Soccer Hosts Clinic for Local St. Peter Youth

All About the F-U-N!!

On Thursday September 20th, GAC Women's Soccer hosted a mini-clinic for the U12 Girls from the St. Peter Soccer Club.  The club girls came early to watch GAC run some drills and play a little 9v9 game before they got to join in on the fun!  First there were the introductions, where both sets of girls got to know a little about one another, expressing their hidden talents, even getting one of the St. Peter girls to sing Adele!  Then the seniors ran the U12 girls through a bit of their everyday warm up so they could get a feel for a typical Gustie practice.  On to passing, where the focus was on form, accuracy and even ONE TOUCH!  The clinic really ramped up from there with a shooting drill involving some creative celebrations on the part of both teams.  With a mix of Gustavus girls and a majority St. Peter girls split onto three teams, everyone took to the field for a mini tournament.  From the fifteen girls who attended to the twenty Gustavus players, there wasn't a face without a smile!  Lucky for both sets of girls, they get to do it all again on October 4th at 7:00pm at Gustavus, for the second of the two scheduled clinics.

Check out more pictures on Flickr!!

9/17-9/22 Player of the Week: Maggie Lane

  Senior Captain Maggie Lane nabs the Player of the Week this week, capping off a long week of practice with a fantastic performance at Saturday's game in St. Joseph vs. St. Benedict's.  Maggie consistently works hard at practice, striving to make herself and her teammates better every time she steps on the pitch.  Her focus this week was working to not only create shooting opportunities but taking them as well-- and the focus paid off! Her first goal came off a ball that rolled to her about 25 yards out, Maggie put her head down and struck the ball towards goal.  It left her foot and floated up, but dropped quickly after it hit it's peak and fell in the net behind the keeper's outstretched arms to give the Gustie's their first lead in conference play.  She didn't stop there though!  The entire team continued to press the Blazer's defense and when the Gusties won a corner kick, Maggie made sure to capitalize on it!  Leah Brossoit placed a dangerous ball inside the box, Maggie tracked and got a head on it to deflect it to the back of the net, putting the Black and Gold up 2-0.  Despite a quick goal by St. Ben's, Maggie kept pressing and shooting to try to get a third!  Congrats Maggie!!

Gusties Pick Up Conference Win

Early Goals Hold off St. Benedict's

  The Gusties came out flying on Saturday, moving the ball and pressing St. Ben's early.  The hustle and mobility of our midfield paid off in big ways, as the team possessed the ball and moved it up the field with poise.  It was Maggie Lane with the first goal, on a ball that rolled out to her about 25 yards away from net.  She lofted a shot up in the air, that quickly dropped behind the keepers' outstretched arms.  Up 1-0, the Gusties did not quit.  Continuing to pressure whenever they had the opportunity and remaining stingy on defense by thwarting any opportunity that came towards net, the Gusties maintained their lead.  On top of the strong stance by their field players, Jess Richert cleaned up anything that made it through the back line.  In the 27th minute, it was the pressure by Tam Meuwissen that created a corner kick opportunity for the Black and Gold.  With Leah Brossoit taking the corner, it was again Maggie Lane who found the ball and put her head on it to deflect it into the back of the net once again.  A quick rush down field for the Blazers soon after proved costly as they found the back of the net and made it 2-1, but that would remain the score throughout the first and entire second half.  Both team creating some dangerous opportunities, but neither putting any home.  Strong defense by the entire team made the                    difference and gave the Gusties their first conference win!

Women’s Soccer Picks Up First Conference Win 2-1 Over Saint Benedict
Posted on September 22nd, 2012 by Tyler Grey


Senior captain Maggie Lane scored two goals to lead the Gusties

St. Joseph, Minn. - The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team picked up its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win on Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 triumph over Saint Benedict.  Maggie Lane (Sr., Saginaw, Minn.) scored two first-half goals to lead the Gusties in the victory.  With the win, Gustavus improves to 3-4-0 (1-2-0 MIAC), while Saint Benedict falls to 3-2-2 (2-1-0 MIAC).

“Our girls started playing from the first whistle and it showed,” remarked head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  “We took advantage of some of our opportunities, took some chances, and we played fantastic defense the whole game.  Our back line and Jess in goal did a great job of shutting them down.”

Senior captain Maggie Lane scored her first goal of the season at the 10:44 mark to jump-start the Gustie offense.  Lane launched a strike from deep range that sailed up-and-over Blazer goalkeeper Claire O’Brien to give Gustavus the early 1-0 lead.  It was Lane scoring again in the 27th minute with a header off of a corner from Leah Brossoit (Jr., Rochester, Minn.).  Lane’s two goals marked her first and second of the season, and her second and third career goals.  It is the third time a Gustie has scored two goals in a contest this season.

“Maggie stepped up for us today,” remarked Burnett-Kurie on Lane’s performance.  “She had the confidence to take a shot from 30 yards out and it paid off for her first goal.  On the second one, Leah played a fantastic ball in off of a corner and Maggie found the end of it to put it in the back of the net.”

Brossoit was the only other Gustie to get on the scorecard, amounting one assist.  Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) notched 13 saves on the afternoon, the second time the senior goalie has recorded double-digit saves in a match this season.

The Gusties will travel to Winona, Minn. on Wednesday, Sept. 26th to take on Saint Mary’s University under the cover of darkness.  Wednesday night’s game will be played under the lights at 7:00 p.m.

“The true test for us is to continue to play at the level we did today,” surmised coach Burnett-Kurie.  “Playing under the lights is a different atmosphere – a fantastic atmosphere.  It will be a great environment to play in.”

Box Score

Estee Berg: Player of the Week 9/10-9/15

Estee is awarded our "Player of the Week" for her outstanding defense in both the St. Olaf and Concordia games.  Estee continually works hard in practices, and exemplifies the mental toughness of a Golden Gustie.  Even when things aren't always going her way, she fights through it and works to improve her game and the game of her teammates.  Time after time she shut down the speedy forwards of St. Olaf and Concordia, often given the tough task of marking up on the current leading scorer in the MIAC.  As Estee works towards our Saturday game versus St. Benedict's, we know this "Player of the Week" status will brighten her day!

Gusty Day for the Gusties

Gusties Go Down 2-0 Against the Wind

Fighting against a strong wind all first half, the women's soccer team took everything they had to Concordia this afternoon.  Two goals by #12 proved to be the difference at the final whistle though, despite valiant efforts by the Gusties to battle back from the deficit.  Strong defense by Leah Brossoit, Nikki Carlson, Karlye Smith, Estee Berg, keeper Jess Richert and substitue Brittany Chase kept the Cobbers off the scoreboard in the second half.  A few forward efforts by Tam Meuwissen, Maggie Lane, and Amanda Cartony proved dangerous, but ultimately Conordia's keeper kept the ball out of the back of the net.  The Gusties look ahead to their bye week as they have Wednesday off, and will face off at St. Benedict's in St. Joseph, MN at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday September 22nd.

The Gusties will have this Monday off from all team activities as they gear up for a "Team Bonding" and high ropes course on Sunday the 23rd.

Women’s Soccer Drops Second Straight 2-0 To Concordia Posted on September 16th, 2012 by Tyler Grey

St. Peter, Minn. - It was the same story, different chapter on Saturday afternoon at the Gustie Soccer Field, as the Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team dropped its second consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match 2-0 to Concordia on Saturday afternoon.  Two first half Cobber goals were too much to overcome for the Black and Gold, as the Gusties move to 2-4-0 overall, and 0-2-0 in MIAC play.  The Cobbers improve to 4-1-1 overall, 2-0-0 in the MIAC.

Concordia opened the scoring in the 31st minute when a drive from 30 yards out by Laura Prosinski bounced up-and-over Gustavus keeper Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) and into the back of the net to crack the 0-0 tie.  The second Cobber goal came in the last minute of the first half when Sarah Rounds snuck behind the Gustie defense and beat Richert one-on-one to push the score to 2-0.

The Gusties kept Concordia from scoring in the final 45 minutes, but were unable to create any dangerous opportunities offensively, only amounting three shots.  Gustavus tallied five shots on afternoon game to Concordia’s 30.

“We have talked all season about how changing our style of play is going to be a process,” remarked head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  “We just have to keep fighting and believing that we can get better every day.”

Senior keeper Jessica Richert paced the Gusties with a career-high 16 saves, five saves off of the Gustavus single-game record held by Linnea Carlson.  Carlson tallied 21 saves against UW-Stevens Point on Sept. 2, 2001.

The Gusties will have a week off before heading to St. Joseph, Minn., to face Saint Benedict on Saturday, September 22nd at 1:00 p.m.  The week off brings an opportunity for the Gustie women to get back to work as they push forward in their grueling MIAC schedule.

“Our team is full of hard workers,” said senior captain Tam Meuwissen.  “We are going to continue to work hard and go the next one against Saint Ben’s on Saturday.”

Box Score - Photos

Gustie Soccer Falls to St. Olaf

             

              Gusties Battle until Final Whistle

The Gusties took to the field yesterday with wet and dreary conditions, but it didn't dampen their spirits or play.   The home team was able to find some possession and press Olaf at many points during the game, working the ball in their Gustie Tempo and setting the pace of the game at times.  Despite a two minute lapse that saw the Oles find the back of the net twice, there was fight and no giving up for the ladies in white.  Coach Burnett-Kurie spoke to the team after the game expressing, "this is the kind of loss you walk away from with more confidence."  And the Gusties did.  They will battle Concordia at the Gustie Soccer Field on Saturday, kickoff set for 2:30 pm.

Women’s Soccer Drops MIAC Opener 2-0 To St. Olaf

Posted on September 13th, 2012 by Tyler Grey

St. Peter, Minn. - The Gustavus women’s soccer team dropped its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match 2-0 to St. Olaf Wednesday at the Gustie Soccer Field.  Two first half defensive plays that resulted in own goals proved to be the difference, as the Gusties move to 2-3-0 (0-1-0 MIAC) on the season.  With the win, St. Olaf moves to 3-2-0 (1-0-0 MIAC) on the year.

“The girls fought hard,” said head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  “It was a battle.  We played well, and we worked on a lot of the things we wanted to improve on.”

The two squads traded offensive opportunities in the first half, but the ball bounced St. Olaf’s way twice within a minute to allow the Oles a 2-0 halftime lead.  The first goal was scored when a Gustie defender attempted to dispose of a dangerous corner kick from Ole midfielder Kajsa Brindley.   An unlucky bounce saw the ball into the back of the net and the Gusties trailed 1-0.  The second goal came on another own goal.  This time, a header that popped up and over the outstretched fingertips of goalkeeper Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) to push the deficit to 2-0.

The second half was a deadlock between the two squads.  Both teams had their chances, as each team recorded an identical five shots after the intermission.

“Even when we went down 2-0, we came out strong in the second half.  We believed that we could still come back and we played it out to the end,” Burnett-Kurie mentioned of her team’s performance in the final 45 minutes.

Richert tallied eight saves on the evening after not being tested once in her last two appearances.  With the eight saves today, the senior keeper moves into ninth on the Gustavus all-time saves list.  Senior forward Maggie Lane (Saginaw, Minn.) recorded two shots on goal to lead the Gusties offensively.

It will not get any easier for Gustavus on Saturday, as the Gusties will host Concordia in St. Peter.  However, coach Burnett-Kurie feels her team is up for the challenge.

“Saturday is going to be tough, but I think we will walk away from this loss and know that we can battle with anybody.  In the MIAC, every game brings a high level of competition.  Anyone can win on any given night.”

Saturday’s match against the Cobbers is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. at the Gustie Soccer Field.

Box Score

Gustavus Tops Crown

Three More Tallies!

The Gusties picked up another win on Saturday at Crown College in St. Bonifacious, MN.  While the first half proved that the Gusties could keep the Gustie Tempo and create scoring chances, the shot count read 20-0 in favor of Gustavus as half, but no score on the scoreboard.  

It was not until the second half when Tam Meuwissen put home a header off of Emily Papagapitos' cross that finally put the Gusties on the board.  Tam would again find the back of the net, dribbling through a few defenders in the box to put home a nice shot.  Brit Chase would cap off the scoring for the Gusties with a flick off a Leah Brossoit corner.  Jess Richert and Caroline Olson combined in net for the second shutout of the season.

Courtesy of the Gustavus Adolphus Sports Information Office-

WSoc beats Crown and Box Score

Player of the Week

Tam Meuwissen

Tam continuously works hard at practice and in games, but her performance this week was exceptionally great.  Coming off a head cold that she played through all week, she capped off a three goal week with two goals in the Crown College game.  Tam bounced back from fatigue and put forth maximum effort Saturday, finding ways to get the ball in on net, as well as getting any piece of her body on balls that came across the face of the goal.  Meuwissen had 4 shots on goal in the Crown game, including two headers, one which found the back of the net.  One particular individual effort to get free was capped off by a great shot that left the Crown goalie dumbfounded and the ball in the back of the net.  Tam's continuous effort and performance makes her the Player of the Week for 9/3-9/8.

Martin Luther 9/5

Gusties Get the WIN!!

The Golden Gusties took to the JV field Wednesday afternoon to face off against Martin Luther College.  The Gusties came out with energy and picked up their first win of the season, giving Coach Burnett-Kurie her first collegiate head coaching career victory.  With SIX different Gusties scoring: Amanda Cartony (2), Emily Papagapitos (1), Brittany Chase (1), Liz Underwood (1) and Anna Basil (1), THREE more Gusties tallied assists: Amanda Cartony (2), Valerie Belanger (1), and Maggie Lane (1).  Jess Richert turned away anything that came in her box and earned the shutout in net.

Courtesy of Gustavus Sports Information Office-

Link to the complete story: http://athletics.blog.gustavus.edu/2012/09/06/womens-soccer-defeats-martin-luther-7-0-picks-up-first-win/

Link to the Box Score:  https://gustavus.edu/athletics/wsc/archives/2012/stats/gacmlc.htm

Wisconsin Weekend

Weekend Recap

   Going into this past weekend in Wisconsin we knew we would come out learning about ourselves as a team, and as individual players.  We were able to put together some quality soccer, and fight small battles within our game, for both the UW Oshkosh and UW Stevens Point games.  We fought back with strong second halves in both games, and were able to bounce back from poor starts.  The team was able to maintain spurts of our "Gustie Tempo" and work the ball up the field on numerous occasions.  

   In the UW Oshkosh game, we mounted a powerful offensive attack that gave Liz Underwood space for a shot.  She put a dangerous ball on net that nearly sailed over the keepers head.  In addition a few headers in the box by Maggie Lane and stand up defense by the entire back line had us in contention with UW Oshkosh for the second half.

   Early relaxed touches and slow play proved costly against UW Stevens Point, but the ladies were able to find a rhythm in the second half.  Contesting the ball in our offensive third was dangerous as Tam Meuwissen caused the keeper to cough up a ball in her 18 yard box, that resulted in a close range shot.  A stingier Gustie defense kept Stevens Point on their heels and allowed for some more play in our midfield and offensive end of the field.

Pre-game walk in the woods

Maggie wanted to climb on everything and break dead trees

Cartony leads a little bushwhacking

2012 Gusties

Dipping their feet into the lake

Team photo on Saturday

SPANDEX! ...and Jess slightly confused.

  Team captains were announced before the weekend, with seniors Nikki Carlson, Maggie Lane and Tam Meuwissen garnering the honors for the 2012 season.  All and all the weekend was a great spring board for the season, and left some lasting memories on and off the field!