Women’s Soccer Clinches No. 2 Seed In MIAC Playoffs With 1-0 Overtime Win Over Hamline

Posted on October 31st, 2015 by Nick Hoelmer

Chaselyn Miller scored the game-winning goal for Gustavus in overtime on Saturday, giving the Gusties a 1-0 victory over Hamline.

SAINT PETER, Minn. – After suffering two straight conference defeats, the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s soccer team got itself back on track at the right time, as it secured a 1-0 overtime victory over Hamline University on Saturday afternoon at the Gustie Soccer Field. With the win, the Gusties conclude their regular season with an overall record of 11-6-1 and 8-3-0 in the MIAC. The win also secured Gustavus the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, which begin Wednesday for the Gusties, who earned a first-round bye with Saturday’s win.

“It was an awesome win today,” said Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie following the game. “It’s a great tribute to Britt [Chase] as our only senior and it’s a great tribute to this entire team for how hard they’ve worked all season long. Going into overtime, our women had it in their minds that they wanted to win the game and that’s what they made sure happened. We had been peppering their goal a lot, so it was nice to finally put one in the back of the net at the end there.”

The Gusties dominated on the offensive end throughout the game, holding the advantage in the shot-count by a tally of 10-4, including a 5-1 mark in shots on goal, but neither team was able to put home a goal in regulation, which sent the game to sudden-death overtime. There, seven minutes in, Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) played the ball in from the left corner. The ball was deflected by a Hamline defender, but was rebounded by first-year Chaselyn Miller (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) who buried it into the bottom lefthand corner for her fourth goal of the season.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) earned her ninth shutout of the season between the posts for Gustavus, bringing her record to 11-6-1 on the year.

“We just need to continue focusing on us,” said Burnett-Kurie. “Especially because there is a play-in game and we’re not going to know who we play until Tuesday evening, we need to just focus on what got us to this point and continue to have that fight and overall edge.”

Gustavus will next face the winner of No. 3 Macalester and No. 6 Concordia in the MIAC playoff’s semifinals, which will be played Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the Gustie Soccer Field. Macalester and Concorida will play Tuesday afternoon in St. Paul.

Women’s Soccer Loses 3-2 At Concordia, Clinches Playoff Berth

Posted on October 28th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Chaselyn Miller scored her third goal of the
season in the loss at Concordia.

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team made a strong case for a comeback Wednesday afternoon, but ended up losing 3-2 at Concordia College. The Gusties fall to 10-6-1 overall and 7-3 in the MIAC, but even with the loss Gustavus has clinched its first ever MIAC Playoff berth as a result of other teams falling out of playoff contention. The playoff berth is Gustavus’ first postseason appearance since 1998 when it reached the second round of the national tournament, which was five years before the MIAC initiated its playoffs.

“Despite the loss today, we are pleased that we have secured a spot in the conference playoffs,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “It’s a testament to how hard this team has worked all season long. But for now our focus is to finish strong with the last game of the regular season on Saturday and then carry that into next week’s playoffs.”

Concordia led 1-0 at halftime as it scored with less than four minutes remaining in the half. The Cobbers outshot the Gusties 7-2 in the opening 45 minutes.

Gustavus netted the equalizer four minutes into the second half on a goal by Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.), assisted by Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska). But a pair of Concordia goals within a minute of each other in the 56th minute proved to be too much of a hole to dig out of for the Gusties.

Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) brought the game within one goal at the 69:00 mark, but Concordia held off the strong offensive pressure put on by the Gusties late in the game.

“For the first time in a while we showed true fight in the second half,” Burnett-Kurie said. “That fight allowed us to tie up the game early, where Maddison Ackiss found Chase Miller who beat her defender and curled the ball into the top corner. Unfortunately we had a minute lapse where we gave up two goals and a 3-1 deficit was too much for us to overcome.”

Gustavus outshot Concordia 12-5 in the second half and 14-12 in the game. The Gusties also held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made four saves in net for the Gusties.

“We brought the game within one, hit a cross bar, forced their keeper to come up with some big saves and certainly put them under pressure,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Several of our players stepped up big time in this game but we still need more to reach that next level.”

Gustavus closes out the regular season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Hamline.

Odermatt's Free Kick Goal Propels Women's Soccer To 1-0 Victory Over UW-Stout

Posted on October 21st, 2015 by Nick Hoelmer

Emily Odermatt scored the Gusties' lone goal in a 1-0 win over UW-Stout on Wednesday.

ST.PETER, Minn. - The Gustavus Adolphus College women's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Stout on Wednesday afternoon at the Gustie Soccer field. 

With the win, the Gusties improve to 10-4-1 overall while the Blue Devils fall to 6-6-3.

"We knew we'd be evenly matched with UW-Stout," said assistant coach Benton Frayne. "We came out a bit flat in the first half and couldn't seem to find a rhythm. UW-Stout played well, especially in the first, but we were able to turn it around and pick up a nice win."

The Gusties and Blue Devils played to a 0-0 tie in the first half, with UW-Stout controlling possession for a majority of the period, forcing Gustavus to rely heavily on its defenders.

"We brought in our back line this week to look at video and make sure we were being smart with our communication," said Frayne. "UW- Stout had a lot of movement up top that challenged us right away and we couldn't seem to find our rhythm in that first half, which forced us to be a counter-attacking team. They were the better team in the first, but it's always nice when we can rely on our back four and Ashley [Becker] to keep us in games."

In the second half, the Gusties seemed to find their groove and began controlling the ball more consistently. Then, a UW-Stout foul at the 71:57 mark gave Gustavus defender Emily Odermatt (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) a free kick on the right side of the field and mere feet in front of the center line. Odermatt sent her kick soaring high towards the goals, the ball took a large bounce, and skipped over Blue Devil goalie Paige Meyer's left shoulder and into the bottom left corner of the net, untouched by any other player. The goal was Odermatt's second of the season and gave the Gusties all it would need to come away with the win.

"We didn't make any big adjustments at halftime, we just talked about getting back to what we do, which is playing the Gustie tempo, finding our feet and finding a rhythm, which we were eventually able to do that second half," said Frayne. "We controlled possession much more and worked the game back into our favor because we did the things that we do well in terms of tempo and movement, so that was great to see."

Gustavus outshot UW-Stout 11-4 on the day, including 7-3 mark on goal, and also held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks. All of the Gustie corner kicks came in the second half.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) reached the double digit mark in the win column on the season as the rookie 'keeper picked up her 10th win between the posts after playing the full 90 minutes. Becker is now 10-4-1 on the year.

The Gusties will return to the field on Saturday for a conference matchup with St. Catherine University (9-5-1, 4-4-0 MIAC). A Gustavus win would clinch the program a MIAC playoff spot for the first time since the playoff system began in 2003.

"St. Catherine is a good team that has picked up some nice wins this season," concluded Frayne. "It'll definitely be a challenge, but if we come in, play our tempo right away, and are focused, we should have the opportunity to play another good game and hopefully pick up a win."

Late Goal Pushes Women's Soccer Past Saint Ben's 1-0

Posted on October 14th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The Gustavus women's soccer team held its ground as the top team in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 1-0 win over the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday. With the win, the Gusties improve to 8-4-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the MIAC. 

Hannah Sturtz scored the game-winner
in the 84th minute against St. Ben's.

"We knew today was going to be a battle and we were not let down," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. "From the starting whistle, Saint Ben's came out with a purpose. Once again our players raised their game, dug deep and put together a solid 90 minutes."

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half as each team posted four shots.

"The first half we possessed the ball very well, especially against such a strong team," Burnett-Kurie said. "We had a few dangerous opportunities, but were not able to bread down their back line."

In the 62nd minute, Saint Ben's had a great opportunity to take the lead with a penalty kick but was unable to capitalize as the shot clanged off the cross bar.

"Our team came back after the PK with a lot of confidence and the momentum came back our direction," Burnett-Kurie said. 

With just seven minutes remaining in regulation the Gusties finally found the net with the game's first and only goal. Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) found Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) on top of the 18-yard box and Sturtz buried the shot with authority. The goal was Sturtz' fourth and the assist was Skogseth's third of the season.

"Everyone played well and we certainly played with a lot of guts, guile and grit," Burnett-Kurie said. "Saint Ben's is a very strong team so we are incredibly proud of everyone in our program." 

Gustavus finished with eight shots - four in each half - while the Blazers took a total of 11 shots with seven coming in the final 45 minutes. Gustie keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves in the shutout.

The Gusties next host Bethel University (3-10, 0-7 MIAC) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Gusties Stand Alone in Leading the MIAC

A well deserved win for the Gusties, as they outplayed Augsburg College this past Saturday.  The team has been working extremely hard the entire season, and to receive the outcome they had been striving for is excellent to see for the program.  This game truly was a team effort, and with the help of everyone, two of the first years stepped it up and put the ball in the back of the net.  Knowing this game was going to be a battle, Augsburg challenged the Gusties both offensively and defensively -holding the women accountable for keeping up the Gustie Tempo, being a threat in the final third, and a brick wall in the backline.

Women's Soccer Takes Conference Lead, Beats Augsburg 2-1

Posted on October 10th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

Emily Skogseth (25) dribbles past an Augsburg defender.  Skogseth scored the first goal of the game.

ST. PETER, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team claimed a key league win Saturday afternoon as it defeated Augsburg 2-1 in a battle of the top two teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Gusties improve to 7-4-1 overall and 5-1-0 in the MIAC with 15 points, which is good for sole possession of the first place in the conference standings.

"This is what we have been working for, to be able to compete with the top teams in the MIAC," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We knew going into today that this is what we've been working for and we wanted to make a statement.  We wanted to prove that we deserve to be at the top.  Augsburg is a great team, they are very dangerous and created a lot of opportunities, but our defense held steadfast and we were still able to attack from it."

After a scoreless first half that saw five shots by Gustavus and four by Augsburg, the Gusties scored the first goal of the game in the 52nd minute.  The Gustie women built up the play on the right-hand side as Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) played it to Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.), who was central, as she faked to her left, cut back to her right and ripped a shot from 25 yards that skipped right underneath the crossbar for the goal.  Leininger now has eight assists this season, which are two behind the Gustavus season record.

The Gusties then took a 2-0 advantage in the 69th minute on a similar goal to the first.  Josie Mazzone (So., Rapid City, S.D.) got into the attack as the outside back and played it into Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) who faked to her left, went back to her right and scored far post for her second goal of the season.

The Auggies scored their first goal of the game with :42 seconds remaining in the match, but that would be it as the Gusties came away with the win.  Gustie keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) tallied two saves in the win.

"I thought we did a great job of keeping possession of the ball," Burnett-Kurie said.  "That helped with our tempo and the rhythm of the game so that it wasn't just coast-to-coast the whole time."

The Gusties continue MIAC play at 2 p.m., Oct. 14th as they travel to the College of Saint Benedict.

Boldly Beating Bethany

The Gusties proved their loss against Carleton would not keep them in a downward funk, as the women beat Bethany Lutheran College 6-0 on Wednesday.  Each year we look forward to playing Bethany, as they play strong in their UMAC conference.  This game provided us an opportunity to challenge every Gustie player when they stepped out on the field.  We have great depth on the team this year, and to play strong through our whole roster is promising for the program.

At this game, we were able to have the ever-so talented Griffin Spier '16 film and edit a highlight video of this match.  Check it out in the link below!
 2015 Gustavus Women's Soccer at Bethany Lutheran College

Fast Start Propels Women's Soccer Past Bethany Lutheran 6-0

Posted on October 7th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

MANKATO, Minn. - The Gustavus women's soccer team got back to its winning ways with a convincing 6-0 shutout over Bethany Lutheran College in a non-conference play Wednesday evening, improving to 6-4-1 overall.

"We started out really strong today as we knew we couldn't take Bethany Lutheran lightly," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "They've had a strong season so far and some big wins.  Our players rose to the occasion and helped us get on the scoreboard early."

Emily Skogseth led the Gusties with two goals

It didn't take long for the Gusties to score what proved to be the game-winners as Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal just :28 seconds into the match.  Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) and Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) assisted on the goal.  Ackiss then found the back of the net at the 4:10 mark for her team-leading eighth goal of the season, assisted by Chase.  Forty-two seconds later, Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) put the Gusties up 3-0 with her first goal of the season -Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) were credited with the assists.  Nearly four minutes later Skogseth tallied her second goal of the game off a corner kick.  And in the 17th minute, Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) registered her third goal of the season and the Gusties held a comfortable 5-0 lead at halftime.  Sturtz' goal was assisted by Leininger, who leads the Gustie women with seven assists on the season.

Gustavus was incredibly efficient with its first half shots as it scored five goals on seven shots in the opening 45 minutes.

The second half showed much less offense, but Paula Miller (Fy., Rapid City, S.D.) headed in her first career goal in the 67th minute on an assist from Chase to give the Gusties a 6-0 advantage, which stood for a final score.  The Black and Gold doubled its first half shot production from seven to 14 shots for a total of 21 on the day.  The Vikings took nine shots in the first half and only one in the second as Gustie keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves in 90 minutes.

"Even though we only put one in the back of the net, the second half was much more consistent, solid 45 minutes," Burnett-Kurie said.  "We had some fantastic periods of possession where we moved the ball with creativity and deceptiveness.

"What a great overall game for us to play everyone for significant minutes and many players showed their talent.  Emily Skogseth scored her first two collegiate goals, and Paula Miller had her first collegiate goal.  Brittany Chase had a solid three-assist game.  On top of that Katie Johnson, Kendyl Landeck and Courtney Bianchi-Rossi all had standout performances.

"Now it's on to a batlte of two of the top teams in the MIAC on Saturday at home."

Gustavus returns to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference plat at 3:30 p.m. Saturday as it hosts Augsburg College (9-2-0 overall, 4-1-0 in MIAC).

Carleton Comeback

The Gusties fell to Carleton on Saturday, a bummer of a first MIAC loss for the team.  Each year, the battle with Carleton is never easy.  Both teams put up a tremendous fight to see a win up on the scoreboard.  At the end of the first half, the future looked bright for us Gusties.  However, we were unable to hold our lead, and did not play our natural high tempo, and creatively dangerous game for the full 90 minutes.  This loss will not stop the tenacity of the team, but rather fuel us to new levels of play to compete at a high level 24-7.

Women's Soccer Suffers First MIAC Loss, 4-3 At Carleton

Posted on October 3rd, 2015 by CJ Siewert

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -The Gustavus women's soccer team suffered its first loss in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday, losing 4-3 to Carleton College.  The Gusties fall to 5-4-1 overall and 4-1-0 in the conference.

Emily Odermatt scored her first collegiate goal.

Maddison Ackiss (Jr., FairBanks, Alaska) got the scoring going early by finding the back of the net in the fourth minute of play.  Ackiss beat two defenders and hit the bottom right corner for her seventh score of the season (2nd/MIAC).

Carleton answered in the 10th minute off a corner kick to make it 1-1.  The Gusties regained the lead at the 26:44 mark as Emily Odermatt (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) harpooned a corner kick into the top right corner of the net, assisted by Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.).  The goal was Odermatt's first of her career.  In the 38th minute, Laura Johnson (So., Chanhassen, Minn.) tallied her first goal of the season after a turnover as she then found the top right corner of the net.

The Gusties led 3-1 at halftim, but the second half was all Carleton as the Knights tallied three unanswered goals in the final 24 minutes of play.

Gustavus took six shots throughout the match compared to the 16 by the Knights.  Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) took the loss after recording seven saves.

"All in all, it was an exciting game from start to finish," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "We had some moments where we reached a different level of creativity and movement, which showed with the first half score.

"Unfortunately we didn't put together a solid 90 minutes and Carleton stepped up its game in the second half.  There are a lot of learning opportunities we will take from this, both good and bad.

"Now it's on to the next game and getting back on track towards achieving our program goals."

The Gusties next travel to Bethany Lutheran College for a non-conference match at 5 p.m. on Oct. 7.

The Fight For the Fifth Win

The winning streak continues for the Gusties, as we are still undefeated in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  With many opportunities to rack up the goals in the game against Saint Mary's University, we could not capitalize on any but one.  Junior, Maddison Ackiss solidified the win in overtime for the Gusties.  One of our season goals is to never lose in overtime if the game comes down to extra minutes.  We are proud to say we accomplished this on Wednesday night, and have learned we must continue to keep working hard down to every last second.

Women's Soccer Claims Fifth Straight, Defeats Saint Mary's 1-0 in Overtime

Posted on September 30th, 2015 by CJ Siewert

WINONA Minn. -Ninety minutes of play wasn't enough time to decide a victor in Wednesday night's Gustavus women's soccer match at Saint Mary's University as the Gusties and Cardinals played into overtime.  But it was the Gusties who came out on top in the end as Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored the game-winner in the 98th minute -her third game-winning goal of the season.

The Gusties extend their win streak to five, while improving to a 5-3-1 overall and stand alone on top of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings with 12 points and a mark of 4-0-0.

Chaselyn Miller wins the ball off a header.

"We possessed the ball very well throughout the game, but we were not able to create any dangerous opportunities," Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.  "Moving into the second half we wanted to find that edge to our game and work on the quality of our final ball.  We accomplished that, however it was a bit hectic at times.  Near the end of the half we really turned it on with several shots on net and multiple dangerous corners.

"Going into overtime we turned it up a notch.  Sophie Leininger had a fantastic individual effort to beat her defender in the box before finding Maddison Ackiss who also beat her defender and buried the ball in the back of the net."

The Gustavus defense was stout, holding the Cardinals to just two shots throughout the entire match.  The offense rattled off 14 shots before the 15th found the back of the net.

Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made two saves in the win, while her counterpart made 11 saves in a losing effort.

"Overall we did very well to possess the ball and we were able to turn it up a notch and win the game," Burnett-Kurie said.  "Credit to the team for finding a way to win in overtime."

The Gusties continue MIAC play at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 3 at Carleton College.