Gustavus Women's Soccer: Keeping their Crown

THE SCENARIO

On Saturday, May 9th, 2015, our 1st Annual 8v8 Alumnae Tournament was held on the practice fields at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. For the past two seasons, we have held a very successful 11v11 alumnae game, but with our alumnae support increasing every year we needed to expand. Alas, the 8v8 tournament format with 4 teams, 2 current player teams and 2 alumnae teams, starting with group stage games building to a championship match came into existence.

Group Show of our Current Players and Alums

THE EXECUTION

They came back. They played. And they Conquered. For a third year in a row, the alumnae have shown their experience, soccer IQ and intense will to win by coming out on top in our Annual Alumnae Event. But, wow, this year the competition was tougher than usual as it was a hard road to even make it out of the group stage into the championship game. Across the board every team was rising to the occasion and showing that a lot of pride was riding on each game. Here are some statistics to help you get a feel for how close the games really were: Five out of the seven games played, including the championship, were decided by one goal. Four game winning goals were scored in the final 6 minutes of the game, including the lone championship goal scored with less than four minutes left to play in regulation. Despite the competition, only one team was going to come away with the championship glory and this year, going against the run of play, the Has-Been's rose to the occasion to win the basket of goodies.

The Has-Been's celebrating their Championship Glory with the basket of goodies

TEAMS

=Now that you have a general idea of how the 8v8 Alumnae Tournament went, let's introduce you to the four amazing teams we had participating, including their statistics and playing highlights from the day, as well as a quote from one of the team members.

Rusty Gusties

Back Row L-R: Laurel Jordan '88, Mary Frey '87, Wendy Bachman '87, Kristen Konkol, Beau Bachman '14, Nicky Odermatt '89. Front Row L-R: Joni Keelin Bush '88, Tim Kennedy '82 (Coach '86-9), Chris Moelter, Nicole Ektnitphong '15

Overall Record: 0-3-0, Group Stage Knockout

Goals For/Goals Against: 3/9

Highlights: After a slower, but still fantastic, start against the Potentially's, the Rusty Gusties lost two heartbreakers by one goal against the Has-Been's and Almost Are's. They showed they still got it and proved to the younger Gusties why they won the conference tournament back in 1984.

Quote from Hall of Famer Wendy Bachman: "The Rusty Gusties really tried to live up to their name, but it just couldn't be done! This team of 40-somethings and friends were nothing short of stellar. :-) Our goal for next year is to continue to run circles around the youngsters....but withOUT falling down!"

Has-Been's:

Back Row L-R: Jess Richert '13, Abbey Maus '11, Maggie Lane '13, Estee Berg '14, Karen Stenoien '11, Liz Underwood '14

Front Row L-R: Nikki Carlson '13, Emily Papagapitos '14, Ana Gleason '14, Amanda Cartony '14

Overall Record: 3-1-0. Advance to Championship Game winning 1-0

Goals For/Goals Against: 5/4

Highlights: The Has-Been's used a late game come back against the Almost Are's to get their first win of the day, before falling to the Potentially's. They rebounded quickly to pull off a big win against the Rusty Gusties helping them advance to the Championship game from the group stage. Despite the constant pressure by the Potentially's, the Has-Been's defensive star Estee Berg '14 put away the eventual game winner with less than 4 minutes left on the clock.

Quote from Emily Papagapitos: "It was a huge honor playing in the alumnae tournament. We trained for weeks rain or shine and for a lot of us this was the biggest accomplishment of our lives. It wasn't always pretty but we got it done. To give credit where it's due, the current players played better than us. We just had that competitive "we will die if we lose" attitude. The training has started for next year already."

Potentially's:

Back Row L-R: Caroline Olson '15, Benton Frayne, Maddison Ackiss '17, Josie Mazzone '18

Front Row L-R: Molly Johnston '18, Courtney Bianchi-Rossi '18, Sophie Leininger '18, Hannah Sturtz '18

Overall Record: 3-1-0, Undefeated in the group stage, Advanced to Championship game losing 1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 8/2
Highlights: The Potentially's showed their potential as they cruised to an undefeated group stage where they only surrendered one goal, including blanking the Has-Been's 2-0 in their first meeting. In the Championship game, the Potentially's controlled possession and held territorial advantage, however ultimately fell in the final
Quote from First Year Sophie Leininger (with the last line off-record): "We played hard and we only gave up 2 goals the entire tournament, unfortunately, one of them was when it mattered most. But if we are being honest we couldn't beat the Has-Been's twice in one day... no one can be that mean to the elderly."

Almost Are's:

L-R: Brittany Chase '16, Jana Elliott '17, Karlye Smith '15, Moni Pelkey '17, Emily Odermatt '18, Coursey Edwards '17, Riley Viner '17, Laura Johnson '18

Overall Record: 1-2-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 5/6
Highlights: Every game for the Almost Are's came down to one goal, and unfortunately for them, despite the effort, they were on the wrong end of two of those goals. Their group stage experience started with a big go-ahead goal against the Has-Been's however they were unable to handle their push in the waning minutes. After a back-and-forth battle with the Rusty Gusties (in which they won), the Almost Are's ruined the Potentially's chance of a third goose egg in a row by scoring a well-worked goal.
Quote from Junior Brittany Chase: "We had a great turnout for the Alumnae Tournament and had a lot of competition which was fun. The Almost Are's started out a bit slow against a surprisingly fit and agile Has-Been team. They got the first goal, but we were able to come back and tie it up and with only 30 seconds left they snuck one in on us. Overall, all the game were super fun but also competitive. It was a great experience playing against alumnae from the 80's all the way up to graduating last year!"

Support Crew:

L-R: Ellyn Adelman '18, Emily Hilk '18, Rachel Speiring '18, Roisen Granlund '17, Kendyl Landeck '17

The Support Crew were studs on Saturday helping referee, ball shag and supervise the fields, but mostly they were able to make predictions for each match up and watch the games unfold.
Quote from First Year Ellyn Adelmann: "One second we'd be cheering on the current players battling against the very evenly matched recnet alumnae and on the next field over we would be rooting for the Rusty Gusties including parents of current players and former coaches. Watching these legends who haven't touched a ball for years or decades was the cherry on top of a perfect day of soccer."

TAILGATE

Post-8v8 Tournament, the current players and alums all headed to The Hollingsworth Stadium to enjoy some Erbs & Gerbs while watching the Gustavus Men's Soccer Alumni Game. Following the men's game, all alums (older and younger) headed down to Patty's Grill in town to continue sharing stories and building the strength of the Gustie Family.

THANK YOU'S

Overall, it was a fantastic day with a phenomenal group of individuals. We are so proud to be part of the Gustie Family and are confident it will continue to grow with time. We want to thank all those who who participated, shared stories and showcased their skills on the field for their continued support. We hope everyone in attendance this year will come back next year, as well as those who were unable to attend!

BOX SCORE

1st Game:
2 Has Been's vs. Almost Are's 1
4 Potentially's vs. Rusty Gusties 0

2nd Game:
3 Almost Are's vs. Rusty Gusties 2
2 Potentially's vs. Has-Been's 0

3rd Game:
2 Potentially's vs. Almost Are's 1
2 Has-Been's vs. Rusty Gusties 1

Championship:
1 Has-Been's vs. Potentially's 0

PHOTO GALLERY