Unfortunate Turn of Events at Bethel: 2-1

Coming into our final away game of the season, the girls face a determined Bethel side this Wednesday in a game that determined their playoff chances going into the post-season next week.  Our girls did fantastic however, to step out onto the field and really show their true colors as they managed to match Bethel’s work rate and then some, which is an unbelievably difficult feat knowing that there is limited relief for them during the match due to an injury-riddled bench behind them.

The girls were really pressing high throughout the game, in every area of the field forcing Bethel to get away from their possession style and to play more direct, which our back line has been very disciplined and talented with being able to deal with, as they only 3 shots on target coming in the first half and only 3 in the second.  Our defenders held strong and really began to work out of the back, allowing our forward movement to really begin testing the Bethel defenders, especially in the second half resulting in a top-class goal by Maddison Ackiss (her ninth of the year) to put the Gusties up 1-0 in the 46^th minute of the match.  The goal came off of a pinpoint pass from Sophie Leininger in the midfield to a lightning fast Maddi, who rifled the shot past a very talented Bethel goalkeeper right into the far side-netting.

It was fabulous to finally break the scoreless conference streak, finding the back of the net and continuing to push forward into the attack, until roughly 15 minutes later in the match when Bethel came out on a breakaway and managed to slide a ball past keeper Roisen Granlund to equalize.

The girls kept pushing though, continuing to get the ball high up the field and whip in dangerous balls across the net, especially with freshman striker Laura Johnson’s movement across the Bethel back line causing absolute mayhem, which allowed Brittany and Maddi to continue creating goal scoring opportunities into the second half.

The match was clipped to an end though, after extending to overtime yet again where a Bethel striker played in a low driven shot, which took a questionable hop at the penalty spot causing a redirection and the ball to pop off of the ground and over the goalkeeper as it trickled into the net.  It was a tough game to lose, due to the unexpected finish, but that’s soccer, sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.

Women’s Soccer Drops Another Heartbreaker, Falls To Bethel 2-1 In OT

Posted on October 29th, 2014 by Nick Hoelmer

 

Maddison Ackiss scored her ninth goal of the season in a 2-1 overtime loss to Bethel on Wednesday afternoon.

Arden Hills, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team was defeated by Bethel University 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday afternoon at the Ona Orth Soccer Complex. The loss marks the sixth game in the last eight the Gusties have played where they were defeated by a single goal. With the loss, Gustavus falls to 0-8-2 in the MIAC and 1-13-3 overall, while Bethel moves to 5-5-0 in the MIAC and 6-8-3 overall.

“Another hard fought game by the girls, but once again, the ball just didn’t bounce our way,” said head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We were pleased with our tempo and how we controlled the ball and felt good about how we kept their defense on guard for a majority of the game.”

Gustavus looked to be in prime position to secure its first conference win of the season when Maddison Ackiss (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) got the Gusties on the board at the 46:21 mark off an assist from Sophie Leininger (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.). The goal was Ackiss’s ninth of the season and the assist was Leininger’s second of the year.

“Maddison’s goal came off of a cheeky ball threaded through the backline by Sophie Leininger,” said Burnett-Kurie. “Both Maddison and Sophie have made great strides this season and it was fun to see the chemistry they’ve developed create a beautiful play like that.”

Gustavus kept it’s lead for a little more than 15 minutes before Bethel’s Savannah Swanson got the Royals on the board at 63:38 on a pass from teammate Samantha Provost to knot things up at 1-1. The two teams stayed scoreless for the remainder of regulation, but approximately one and a half minutes into the extra period, Bethel’s Jessica Huseby secured the sudden death victory for the Royals off a pass from Erin Ness.

Gustavus again struggled to keep up with its opponent on the shot chart, with Bethel taking 16 shots and Gustavus taking eight. Roisen Granlund (So., St. Paul, Minn.) suffered the complete-game loss between the posts after allowing two goals and making six saves to bring her record to 0-5-0 on the year.

“With only one game remaining in the year, we are looking to keep up the tempo we showed tonight and finish our season strong with a victory,” said Burnett-Kurie.

Gustavus will wrap up its 2014 season on Saturday when it hosts Hamline University at the Gustie Soccer Field in a 1 p.m. game. As is tradition at Gustavus,  with it being the final home game of the regular season the team has designated the game as Senior Day and a special tribute will be made to the individuals who have dedicated themselves to the Gustavus women’s soccer program for the past four years.