Run For Kicks!

Here it is! All the information about the event of the year: 

The Gustavus Adolphus College Women’s Soccer Team is excited to announce the first annual “Run for Kicks” 5K run/walk.  The race is being held on October 17^th at 10:00 am on the beautiful Gustavus campus.  The team will host Bethel College with a 3:30 pm game time that same day.

Please sign up and join in the fun!  The proceeds from this event will directly support the women’s soccer program.  The season is off to an exciting start with three conference wins including a win against Macalester which has not been done since 1995!  Come back to your alma mater to celebrate and support the Gustavus Women’s Soccer Program.   Alumni support is critical to the success of our event.

Please go to the following website for further information and to register for the race online:

https://www.zapevent.com/listactivities.aspx?eventid=8596

Participants will receive a "Run for Kicks" t-shirt and post-race goodies!

Bring your friends and we will see you at the "Run for Kicks" event on October 17th!  

Don't forget to sign up TODAY! You can use our QR Code to register for the event as well: 

Big Homecoming Win vs. St. Thomas

It was homecoming.  It was St. Thomas.  It was our alumnae game.  And how sweet it was to get the big W.

After it took us the first 10 minutes to find the rhythm of the game, we dominated much of play.  Sophomore Sophie Leininger kept her point streak going when she found First Year Chase Miller just inside the box for her first collegiate goal (what a time to have it!), and from there the game only got better.  With a lot of creative movement, players joining the attack and Gustavus Women's Soccer dominating possession, we ended up outshooting St. Thomas 16-6 during the full 90 minutes.

It wasn't until the second half that we were able to get a second on the board.  The goal came off a strong free kick by Sophomore Emily Odermatt who's initial ball almost found the back of the net itself, however the St. Thomas goalkeeper was able to swat that away on the line, however Gustavus has three players crashing the net with Hannah Sturtz heading in what proved to be the game-winner.  Credit to St. Peter native Sara Osborne scoring the lone St. Thomas goal with 45 seconds left in the game.

Women's Soccer Tops St. Thomas 2-1

Posted on September 26th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Sophomore Sophie Leininger extended her point streak to three games

ST. PETER, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team treated its Homecoming crowd to a 2-1 victory over the University of St. Thomas on Saturday at the Gustie Soccer Field.  The win improves the Gusties to 4-3-1 overall and 3-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, whiile also improving their win streak to four matches.

The match started out slow, but in the 17th minute Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) found the back of the net to score her first collegiate goal.  The goal originated from a corner kcik, which came back to Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) just outside the 18-yard box and she played it across to Miller, who then took a touch and shot it past the keeper on the far post.

"Once we got out of that first 10-15 minutes where we were figuring it out and getting into the rhythm of the game we started to find feet and fall back into the things we've been working on for the entire season, and that was great to see," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We have a lot of confidence going right now, which is a good thing and you can see it with how we are taking chances and we found a lot of success today."

Gustavus took a 2-0 lead in the 79th minute after winning a free kick from about 50 yards out.  The kick was played high and the St. Thomas keeper got a tip on the ball, but with three Gusties crashing the net, Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) headed it in for the two-score lead and her second goal of the season.  Emily Odermatt (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) was credited with the assist.

St. THomas scored its first and only goal of the game in the final minute of play, but time ran out before the Tommies could master a comeback and the Gusties claimed their first win over UST since 2011.

The Gusties outshot the Tommies 16-6.  Keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) recorded three saves.

Gustavus continues MIAC play at 7 p.m., Sept. 30 at Saint Mary's University.

Jophie Comes Alive vs. River Falls

The thunder and lightning swept through St. Peter at 2pm but the skies cleared in time for our non-conference game vs. River Falls yesterday.  We started out strong, once again scoring in the first half.  Sophie Leininger recorded her first goal in the run of play with the assist going to her counterpart Josie Mazzone.  It was Josie's first collegiate point as well, so a big day for "Jophie Mazzone-Leininger" as they call themselves.  We created numerous other dangerous opportunities, however none of them hit the back of the net.  Still a dominating win for us as River Falls failed to register a single shot in the second half.  Read the wonderful write-up below courtesy of Gustavus Athletics.

Women's Soccer Claims Third Straight Shutout, 1-0 Over UW-River Falls

Posted on September 23rd, 2015 by CJ Siewert

First Year Emily Skogseth

ST. PETER, Minn. -On an overcast day at the Gusite Soccer Field, the Gustavus women's soccer team shined through with its third straight shutout victory, defeating the University of Wisconsin-River Falls 1-0 on Wednesday, improving to 3-3-1 overall.

"We got a lot of players into the game and it was great to see how they impacted the game and what they were able to create from it," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "And it's nice to know that we have a lot of depth, especially getting into the real meat of the schedule and our conference schedule.  It's good for our players to get experience, get them into a game and get their confidence up as well.  That's what this game was all about and it was great to see."

Gustavus knocked on the door early in the first half with a pair of close shots in the first six minutes of play, but it wasn't until the 16th minute that it broke through with the game's only score.  Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal after she collected a pass from Josie Mazzone (So., Rapid City, S.D.) and fired it past the keeper on the left side of the goal.

"It was really well deserved," Burnett-Kurie said of Leininger's goal.  "She's such a playmaker so its nice to see her actually put it in the back of the net.  She gets herself into dangerous situations a lot and usually she's the one dishing the assists out, and this time it was good to see her on the other end of it.  So hopefully it breaks the ice and gets her rolling."

The Gusties tallied six shots in the first half and nine in the second for 15 total, while the Falcons took four shots in the first and were unable to get a shot off in the second.

Keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made two saves in the shutout victory.

The Gusties return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 26 as they host the University of St. Thomas.

Maddison Ackiss Named MIAC Athlete Of The Week

What a start to conference play by the Gustavus Women's Soccer team!  We kicked off conference in style going 2-0, with Gustavus putting the ball in the back of the net three times and our opponents zero.  All three goals were courtesy of Sophomore Maddison Ackiss who had one impressive week.  Maddi put together two solid games all over the field -- not only helping us secure the well-deserved wins by scoring but also putting together a solid defensive effort, forcing turnovers high up the field.  All in all, Maddi is incredibly deserving of this recognition!

Posted on September 22nd, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Article courtesy of Matt Higgns, MIAC Assistant Executive Director

ST.PAUL, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team got some incredibly clutch scoring from forward Maddison Ackiss (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) last week that helped the Gusties earn their first 2-0 start in conference play since 2002.  The junior scored three goals total in wins over Macalester and St. Olaf, including both game-winners, to give her team a week to remember.  For her performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Ackiss Tuesday with the MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete-of-the-Week award.

A big week for Ackiss started Tuesday as she scored both goals to lead her team to a 2-0 win over Macalester to open MIAC play.  Her goals came in the 19th and 68th minutes as the Gusties defeated the Scots for the firsst time since 1995.  She followed that up with the game's lone goal just 7:53 in to life Gustavus to a 1-0 win over St. Olaf.  This season, Ackiss is ranked second in the MIAC with five goals, fifth in points with 10 and her two game-winning goals are tied for the league lead.

Thanks to the two wins, the Gusties sit tied atop the MIAC standings with defending champion Augsburg at 2-0 (six points) after one week.  The two wins also helped Gustavus improve to 2-3-1 overall this season.  The Gusties will try to keep the momentum going this week with a pair of home games.  UW-River Falls visits on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. nonconference game, and St. Thomas comes to St. PEter, Minn., Saturday for a key 3:30 p.m. MIAC showdown.

Gusties on the Upward Climb

    By winning our game this Saturday, we are making our journey up the ladder in the conference.  After playing at such a high level against Macalester, our team, as one, decided we would like to keep up the intensity and keep striving for success.  An early goal from Maddison Ackiss proved that the Gusties were here to put up a fight.  Our team was mentally in it to win it for the remainder of the game,  which showed when we came up with back-to-back wins in conference play this week, placing us tied for first. 

 

Women's Soccer Shuts Out St. Olaf 1-0

Posted on September 19th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

ST. PETER, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team Saturday shutout St. Olaf College 1-0 to improve to 2-3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Gustie victory marks the first win over St. Olaf since 2008 and the first time since 2002 the Black and Gold started MIAC play 2-0.

"After the Macalester game we were super hyped up so we knew we needed to make it more of a trend in order for this to happen," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We focused on making a statement coming into this game to prove that we are playing well and that the Macalester game wasn't just a fluke.  Our girls came out prepared after having rough weather this week during out training, but they were able to overcome that and put together a solid 90 minutes."

The Gusties put up the game's only goal 7:52 into the match.  Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season on an assist from Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.).  The goal proved to be the game-winner -Ackiss' second this week -as neither team could find the back of the net in the remaining 82 minutes.

St. Olaf tallied 12 shots, while the Gusties posted nine.

Keeper Ashley Becker (Fr., Farmington, Minn.) made three saves in her second-straight shutout win.

"Our back line did a really good job," Burnett-Kurie said.  "St. Olaf has a lot of quick and talented forwards and our back line did a good job of knowing when to step and when to drop, and shutting them down.  And then Ashley comes up with big-time saves when you need it.  That gets us going.  From the front line all the way down to the back we made sure that we were high pressing all ove rthe field."

Gustavus returns to action at 4 p.m. on Sept. 23 as it hosts the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Article courtesy of Gustavus.edu/athletics

The Scores are out & Gustavus is Well-Above Average.

Gustavus Campus - Old Main and The Chapel

Beck Hall - Academic Building 

In February 2013, the U.S. Department of Education released the first interactive College Scorecard and it was a big deal.  Why was it a big deal?  The College Scorecard provides students and families the critical information they need to make educated decisions about their college choice.  The information these scorecards provide highlight key indicators about the cost, quality and value of institutions across the country.  Offering information regarding location, size, campus setting, degree and major programs, cost, graduation rate, load default rate, average amount borrowed, employment and salary after graduation help prospective students find schools that are well-suited to meet their educational and career criteria as well as their financial needs.

In nut shell, the Gustavus scorecard is awesome.  Here are some of the scores from the scorecard:
We are above average for salary after attending Gustavus at $50,100 where the national average is
$34,343.  Plus, we are well above average for graduation rate with Gustavus at 83% and the national average at 44%.

Curious to learn more about how awesome Gustavus is?  Check out our scorecard here.  

Questions? Want more information about Gustavus? Send Head Coach Burnett-Kurie an email: lburnett@gustavus.edu so we can tell you everything you want to know about Gustavus.


Missed the link to the Gustavus Scorecard? Here it is again: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?173647-Gustavus-Adolphus-College

1995: The Year

A US postage stamp was 32 cents. 

A gallon of gas was $1.09.

The average cost of a new car was $15,500.00.

Windows 95 was released by Microsoft. 

DVD's were announced. 

Apollo 13, Braveheart, Jumanji, and Toy Story were released.

And most of you were not even born.  

That's a short list of the happenings in 1995.  

So why is 1995 of any significance? Well, that was the last year Gustavus Women's Soccer team beat Macalester Women's Soccer.  

Until 2015.  

Ashley Becker made seven saves
in her first collegiate shutout

We started out our conference play vs. Macalester on the road this year.  We were focused heading into the game and played a solid 90 minutes of soccer, resulting in a wonderful 2-0 win, which was the first since, can you remember? 1995.  We had a huge fan following from parents to alums to peers, which created a fantastic environment to play in.  We started out going up 1-0 in the first half with a great combination play between Junior Maddison Ackiss and Senior Brittany Chase.  Ackiss then scored our (and her) second of the game in the second half off a cross from Junior Coursey Edwards.  

We attacked as a team and defended as a team, but First Year Ashley Becker in goal along with her backline consisting of First Year's Grace Brustad and Trina Rinke paired with Sophomore's Emily Odermatt and Josie Mazzone posted their first shutout of the year.  All in all, it was a fantastic team effort that went 26 players deep.  

Read more about it via the Gustavus Athletics Game Recap:

Women's Soccer Wins To Stat MIAC Play, 2-0 Over Macalester

Posted on September 15th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

ST. PAUL, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team ended a three-game skid Tuesday night, defeating Macalester 2-0 to begin conference play.

The win marks the first time since 1995 the Gusties beat Macalester, ending a stretch that included 17 losses and one tie.

"We've known we've been close leading up to this point, and we finally put it all together," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We played a dangerous Macalester team that took it to us, but our attack and defense was up to the task tonight."

Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored both of the Gustie goals Tuesday, while keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate win in shutout fashion.

The first goal of the night came in the 20th minute as Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) found Ackiss from the right side for an open look at the net.

"We played our style of soccer so well tonight, pinging the ball around one and two touch up and down the field," Burnett-Kurie said.  "Our first goal was such a fantastic goal.  We developed the play, then Maddi and Britt passed around their defenders to get in behind before Britt selflessly played the ball back to Maddi for a one-time finish."

Macalester outshot Gustavus 6-5 in the first half, but the Gusties carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

"In the second half, Macalester came out strong, but just like our defense did all first half, we were able to handle everything they threw at us," Burnett-Kurie said.  "Ashley Becker, our backline, and entire team in front of them did a fantastic job of pressuring the ball, contesting 50/50's and sticking tackles."

In the 69th minute, Ackiss found the back of the net for her second score of the night -this time on a ling pass from the left by Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.).  The shot was from 15 yards out.

"in the second half, even though we were going at the wind, we still found feet and kept possession incredibly well, " Burnett-Kurie said.  "We created numerous chances that could have easily found their way into the back of the net.  For our second goal, Coursey recognized the one-on-one situation inside the box and crossed the ball over towards Maddi, who used her strength and technical skill to beat her defender and finish the ball."

The Scots rattled off nine more shots in the second half, but none of them made it through Becker as tallied seven saves for the Black and Gold.

The Gusties finished the night with 11 shots compared to the 15 by the Scots.

"It was a great win and very well deserved for the team," Burnett-Kurie said.  "We are proud of this group of players and are now looking to use this as momentum going into our next game this Saturday."

Gustavus improves to 1-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Gusties host St. Olaf at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 19.

Game of Inches

A tremendous effort was put forth by the Gusties this Saturday at Lacrosse.  The game could not have been played better.  Our players never let down -we contested for every ball, and put all the energy we had into pursuing a win.  Our attacking players played deviously up top, but their goalie responded well.  It is always a great battle between the Gusties and the Eagles, and we will be sure to keep this fight in the back of our minds for next year's match.

Women's Soccer Drops Double Overtime Match 2-1 At UW-La Crosse 

Posted on September 12th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

La Crosse, Wis. -The Gustavus women's soccer team was unable to hold on to a 1-0 lead in the second half, losing 2-1 in double overtime to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday afternoon.

"Today's game was extremely hard fought by both sides, making it an exciting match to watch," Head Coach Laura Brunett-Kurie said.  "We played our style of soccer, which showed with all of the crafty combinations we connected all over the field.  Through our combination play we created numerous dangerous chances forcing their goalkeeper and backline to come up with some key stops.  We hit two posts and forced their keeper to make some outstanding stops."

After a scoreless first half that included nine shots by the Gusties, Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) broke the 0-0 tie 1:30 into the second on a penalty kick goal.  But the lead didn't last long as the Eagles scored the equalizer five minutes later.

The Gusties rattled off seven more shots in the remaining minutes of the second half, but were unable to find the back of the net.

Each team took one shot in the first overtime, but none made it past the keepers.

In the second overtime, UW-La Crosse scored the game-winner on a give-and-go pass to secure the victory after 104:32 of playing time.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) suffered the loss in goal.  She allowed two goals and made seven saves.

"It's frustrating not getting the results, but every practice and every game we are improving as shown with our performance today," Burnett-Kurie said.  "Honestly, it was the best overall game we have played this season -we played with heart, grit and passion -three characteristics we will continue to show for the rest of the season."

Gustavus falls to 0-3-1 and next travels to Macalester College for a 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 15.

MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete-of-the-Week: Brittany Chase

New, hot of the press: Senior Brittany Chase was voted MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete-of-the-week after her stellar start to the season.  Britt has stepped up her game in her senior year, scoring three goals in our first three games of the year.  Read all about it below: 

MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete-of-the-Week

Brittany Chase, Gustavus
Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen

The Gustavus women's soccer team may have just started the 2015 season, but forward Brittany Chase (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) is already in midseason form. The senior has three goals in her first three games of the year - including both in a 2-2 season-opening tie- and has kept her team competitive in each contest thus far. For her high-scoring performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Chase Tuesday with the first MIAC Women's Soccer Athlete-of-the-Week award of 2015.

Chase didn't waste any time starting the season in strong fashion, as she found the back of the net twice in the Gusties 2-2 double-overtime tie against UW-Eau Claire, with both of her goals coming in a 10-minute span to turn a two-goal deficit into a tie. She also scored her team's lone goal in the third

game of the season - a narrow 2-1 setback on the road at Luther. This season, Chase's three goals rank second in the MIAC, her six points rank third and her eight shots rank seventh on the MIAC leader board.

Though the Gusties are off to an 0-2-1 start in 2015, they've only been outscored by a total of 7-5 in their first three games. Gustavus has just one nonconference game on the schedule this week as it searches for its first win of 2015. The Gusties hit the road for Wisconsin Saturday for a game at UW-La Crosse at 2 p.m. After that, Gustavus will open conference play with a trip to Macalester on Sept. 15.

Sep 08, 2015 - http://www.miacathletics.com/news_links/2015-16_aow/090815_soccer_aow

CONGRATS TO BRITT! Very well deserved recognition.  

The Norse Started [the Game] with Force

Still searching for a win, without fresh legs, the Gusties could not come back from Luther's strong scoreboard statement on Sunday afternoon.  The score quickly became 2-0 in the beginning of the first half.  We did not go down without a fight though.  Making adjustments, being versatile, and raising our level of intensity let the Norse know the game was not over until the last whistle blows.  We were able to find the back of the net once, and our goalkeeper remained a brick wall the rest of the game.

Women's Soccer Loses 2-1 At Luther

Posted on September 7th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Decorah, Iowa – The Gustavus women’s soccer team gave up two early goals in the first period and was unable to erase the deficit, losing 2-1 at Luther College on Sunday.

“Luther came out strong today,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “You could tell they didn’t play a game yesterday and came out very strong. We started to gain some confidence in the latter part of the half.”

Brittany Chase scored the lone goal for the Gusties
in a 2-1 loss at Luther.

The Norse struck first with a goal 11:53 into the first period off a corner kick. Not even two minutes later, Luther was able to find the back of the net once again for a 2-0 lead. The goal came on a header off a cross pass.

The Gusties and Norse played even for the rest of the first period and the score stood 2-0 in favor of the home team at halftime.
“At halftime we made some key adjustments and came out as a different team,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We had an edge to our game and created numerous dangerous opportunities in the first 15-20 minutes.”

At the 54:14 mark in the second, Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) found the back of the net from the right side of the box. The score was unassisted.

“We peppered their goal and Brittany Chase finished her third shot in a short period of time,” Burnett-Kurie said. “A great ball to the far post by Coursey [Edwards] where Britt made a cheeky move around her defender before firing a shot far post side netting.”

Despite making five shots in the second period, the Gusties were unable to score the equalizer and the Norse escaped with a 2-1 victory.

“We had several other close calls with Emily Skogseth seeing her shot from the top of the box barely clear the crossbar,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Maddi Ackiss also played several dangerous crosses into the box, including one to Coursey Edwards far post who saw her shot sail high.

“Luther then pushed the tempo and unfortunately we weren’t able to create much in the last ten minutes.”

The Gusties finished the match with five shots, all coming in the second period. Chase led the way with two shots on goal.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) suffered the loss in net for the Gusties. The first-year keeper made five saves with two goals against.

“Despite the outcome we are very excited with how we are playing,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We are still a very young team with 19 first-years and sophomores. We are still trying to develop as a team but we know we have a high ceiling.”

Gustavus moves to 0-2-1 and next travels to UW-La Crosse on Sept. 12 for a 2 p.m. match.

Tight Battle with Wartburg in Waverley, IA

 After coming off of a tie game at home, the Gusties were eager to capitalize on coming home with our first win of the season.  Unfortunately, after a tight battle with Wartburg, we did not come out on top.  However, we dug down deep in the second half to play strong, crafty, and with a desire to win.  There were many positives to come out of the Wartburg game.  Sophomore, Hannah Sturtz, scored her first collegiate goal, our defense continued to build their strength as one, and our attack's creativity is breaking through our opponent's back line more and more.  Emily Skogseth and Chaselyn Miller, both freshmen, also earned their first collegiate points in the game with assisting the Gustie goals.

 

Women’s Soccer Falls 3-2 At Wartburg

Posted on September 5th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Waverly, Iowa -The Gustavus women's soccer team started its two-day tour through Iowa with a 3-2 loss at Wartburg College.

The Knights got on the scoreboard early with a penalty kick goal at the 4:49 mark.  Neither team was able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the period as Gustavus fired seven shots to Wartburg's five.

Hannah Sturtz scored her first career goal
for the Gusties in the 3-2 loss to Wartburg.

"We started out slow and apprehensive," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We picked up our tempo and started to find some rhythm which allowed us to create a couple dangerous opportunities in the latter part of the first half.  We were inches away from tying it up.  We came out stronger in the second half and had a lot of firsts for the team!"

Wartburg started the second period with a flurry of four shots within three and half minutes of each other, but none of them got into the net.  The Gusties then responded with the equalizer at the 52:50 mark on a goal by Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) that found the top right corner of the net, assisted by Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.).

"Chase Miller played a great ball into the box that Maddison Ackiss was able to one-time into the back of the net," Burnett-Kurie said.

It only took Wartburg four minutes to get back in front, though, as the Knights took a 2-1 lead at the 56:51 mark.

Wartburg scored its third and final goal of the day at the 64:35 mark on a rebound.

Four minutes later, the Gusties answered with a goal off the foot of Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) that went through on the left side of the net for her first collegiate goal.  Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) assisted on the goal.  The goal by Sturtz proved to be the last opportunity for the Gusties to score as they didn't register a shot in the final 20 minutes of play.

"Later in the game we continued to create a few dangerous opportunities, one resulting in Emily Skogseth finding Hannah Sturtz inside the box for another one-time finish," Burnett-Kurie said.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) suffered her first collegiate loss.  Becker made nine saves.

The Knights outshot the Gusties 20-11, including a 15-4 advantage in the second period.

"Even though we conceded three goals, our defense did a very good job to try to slow down their dangerous attack," Burnett-Kurie said.

Gustavus moves to 0-1-1 overall and next travels to Luther College for a 4 p.m. match Sunday in Decorah, Iowa.

"We are now focused on tomorrow and continuing to grow and develop everyday," Burnett-Kurie said.  "We are still a young team, but the leadership in the program is starting to show which is helping us continue to develop our style of soccer."

Season Opener: 2-2 Tie with Eau Claire

Today was the hottest day of preseason and, of course, we had our first game of the year.  We kicked off the season with a game verse University of Wisconsin Eau Claire at Gustavus this afternoon.  It was a hard fought battle from the first whistle until the last, which was 110 minutes later after two overtime periods.

 We started out well creating a very dangerous scoring opportunity in the first couple minutes of the game, however Eau Claire rebounded well scoring two quick goals off turnovers in the first 11 minutes of the game.  We found our Gustie Tempo quickly afterwards, getting on the board by a fantastic thru-ball from Sophie Leininger to Brittany Chase who calmly shot the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper.  A few minutes later the same dynamic duo linked up again with Chase burying a curling left footed shot into the upper ninety.

For the remaining 80 minutes of regulation and extra time, we were able to create numerous dangerous opportunities but unable to put the ball in the back of the net for a third time.  Brittany Chase had another wonderful left footed opportunity in the 96th minute which went just high over the crossbar.  In the second overtime period, Emily Skogseth played a dangerous ball over the top for Sophie Leininger who one timed her shot far post but it didn't quite have enough on it to get past the diving Eau Claire goalkeeper.  All in all, it was a very hard fought battle and a great way to start of the 2015 season!

Read more about the game in the Gustavus Athletics recap below courtesy of gustavus.edu/athletics:

Women's Soccer Plays To Tie With UW- Eau Claire In Season Opener

Posted on September 1st, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Senior Captain Brittany Chase scored both of Gustavus' goals in the tie game (Photo courtesy of AJ Dahm, SPX Sports).

The Gustavus Adolphus women's soccer team today played a 2-2 tie with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in its season opener at the Gustie Soccer Field.

The Gusties trailed 2-0 after eight minutes of play, but senior captain Brittany Chase (Victoria, Minn.) ended the shutout with a goal at the 12:34 mark.  Play resumed for another 10 minutes until Chase tallied her second score of the game with 22:42 left in the half.

"I cut in with my left and I saw the goalie was coming out so i chipped it over into the top left of the net," Chase said of her first goal.  "On the second goal, Sophie [Leininger] was dribbling at the top of the 18 [yard mark] and she kind of lost control so i stepped in and chipped it up again."

Sophie Leininger (Plymouth, Minn.) assisted on both of Chase's goals.

Gustavus and UW-Eau Claire played evenly throughout the game as each team had 17 shots on goal.  The Gusties took egiht shots in the first period, five in the second, one in the first overtime and three in the final 10 minutes of play.

In her first collegiate match, first-year goalkeeper Ashley Becker (Farmington, Minn.) was tested with eight shots on goral and made six saves in 110 minutes of play.

"It was good to see that after making some mistakes in the beginning we were still able to bounce back and really find the possession and play well for the rest of the game," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We were able to create a lot of opportunities for ourselves, which was good to see out of our offense."

The Gusties move to 0-0-1 overall and travel to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa on Sept. 5 for a 1 p.m. match against the Knights.