Enjoy these jokes from the Gustavus Women's Soccer team to all of you:
Thursday, November 26, 2015
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
We are Thankful for every member of our program: Players, Recruits, Alums, Family, Friends and Supporters! Thank you for everything you have done to make our program phenomenal. We are lucky to have you in our lives!
Enjoy these jokes from the Gustavus Women's Soccer team to all of you:
Enjoy these jokes from the Gustavus Women's Soccer team to all of you:
Friday, November 13, 2015
Women’s Soccer Nearly Completes Comeback, Drops Heartbreaker 2-1 To Wheaton At NCAA Tourney
Posted on November 13th, 2015 by CJ Siewert
WHITEWATER, Wis. – It was a battle all the way to the final seconds as the Gustavus women’s soccer team nearly completed the comeback on Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but Wheaton was able to make a number of late-game saves and escaped with a 2-1 win over the Gusties. With the loss, the Gusties finish their remarkable turnaround season with a 13-7-1 overall record.
“We are a young team and it was the first time in the national tournament, but after the first 45 minutes we realized that we were supposed to be here,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “We showed that and took it to them and brought our game to that next level. We found our rhythm and put Wheaton on its heels and it was fantastic to see.”
Wheaton showed its veteran experience on the national stage as it put the pressure on early and scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick 8:14 into the match. Nine minutes later, the Thunder took advantage of a turnover near midfield and got a breakaway goal to take a comfortable 2-0 advantage. The Gusties had a few scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes but logged just four shots. Gustavus nearly netted its first goal of the game with just 20 seconds remaining in the half, but was called offsides.
After halftime, the Gusties came out rejuvenated and put the pressure on the Thunder. The first two shots of the second half were blocked, but at the 66:49 mark Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) gave the Gusties their first goal of the game, which also gave them a shot of adrenaline. The goal came after a throw-in near the corner, centered by Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) with a shot by Chase Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) where Skogseth took the rebound and fired it into the back of the net past the diving keeper.
From that point on it was all Gustavus as it continued to put Wheaton on its heels. Skogseth gave the Gusties another great scoring opportunity in the 70th minute, but the Wheaton keep came up with a diving save. Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) kept the pressure going with a shot-on-goal in the 79th minute, but was again blocked. With just three minutes left in the game, Wheaton keeper Mary Daghfal came up with quite possibly the biggest save of her career as she made a diving stop against a shot by Ackiss directly in front of the goal. Miller gave the Gusties one more look with a shot on goal with just three seconds left in the game, but once again Wheaton came up with a big save to secure the victory.
Gustavus finished the second half with 10 shots compared to nine by the Thunder. Throughout the full 90 minutes, the two teams each tallied 14 shots. Wheaton held a large margin in corner kicks, 7-1, and committed more fouls, 15-10.
MIAC Rookie-of-the-Year goalkeeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made three saves, while her counterpart, Daghfal, made eight stops.
“The players put their minds to it and they wanted to make this season special,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Everything they did with all the hours of practice and all the hours of watching film and studying, this was the culmination of all of that, and it was great to see. I think by simply getting over that hump and knowing that we belong here is huge for this team.”
“We are a young team and it was the first time in the national tournament, but after the first 45 minutes we realized that we were supposed to be here,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “We showed that and took it to them and brought our game to that next level. We found our rhythm and put Wheaton on its heels and it was fantastic to see.”
Wheaton showed its veteran experience on the national stage as it put the pressure on early and scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick 8:14 into the match. Nine minutes later, the Thunder took advantage of a turnover near midfield and got a breakaway goal to take a comfortable 2-0 advantage. The Gusties had a few scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes but logged just four shots. Gustavus nearly netted its first goal of the game with just 20 seconds remaining in the half, but was called offsides.
After halftime, the Gusties came out rejuvenated and put the pressure on the Thunder. The first two shots of the second half were blocked, but at the 66:49 mark Emily Skogseth (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) gave the Gusties their first goal of the game, which also gave them a shot of adrenaline. The goal came after a throw-in near the corner, centered by Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) with a shot by Chase Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) where Skogseth took the rebound and fired it into the back of the net past the diving keeper.
From that point on it was all Gustavus as it continued to put Wheaton on its heels. Skogseth gave the Gusties another great scoring opportunity in the 70th minute, but the Wheaton keep came up with a diving save. Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) kept the pressure going with a shot-on-goal in the 79th minute, but was again blocked. With just three minutes left in the game, Wheaton keeper Mary Daghfal came up with quite possibly the biggest save of her career as she made a diving stop against a shot by Ackiss directly in front of the goal. Miller gave the Gusties one more look with a shot on goal with just three seconds left in the game, but once again Wheaton came up with a big save to secure the victory.
Gustavus finished the second half with 10 shots compared to nine by the Thunder. Throughout the full 90 minutes, the two teams each tallied 14 shots. Wheaton held a large margin in corner kicks, 7-1, and committed more fouls, 15-10.
MIAC Rookie-of-the-Year goalkeeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) made three saves, while her counterpart, Daghfal, made eight stops.
“The players put their minds to it and they wanted to make this season special,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Everything they did with all the hours of practice and all the hours of watching film and studying, this was the culmination of all of that, and it was great to see. I think by simply getting over that hump and knowing that we belong here is huge for this team.”
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Four Gusties Named MIAC Women’s Soccer All-Conference, Burnett-Kurie Coach-Of-The-Year
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2015 Women’s Soccer Awards on Thursday and Gustavus took home two of the top four honors. Laura Burnett-Kurie was named Coach-of-the-Year and goalkeeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) was named Rookie-of-the-Year. Joining Becker on the All-MIAC Team are Maddison Ackliss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska),Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) and Josie Mazzone (So., Rapid City, S.D.). The four All-Conference members are the most for Gustavus since 2000 and the first since 2008.
Laura Burnett-Kurie earns her first Coach-of-the-Year honor in her fourth season at the helm of the Gustavus women’s soccer program. Burnett-Kurie has directed the Gusties to the greatest turnaround in program history as they are currently 13-6-1 overall and finished 8-3 in the MIAC, and then went on to claim the MIAC Playoff title with a 1-0 victory at St. Thomas. Burnett-Kurie also has her squad in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.
Ashley Becker made her presence known in a big way for the Gusties. In her first season wearing the Black and Gold, Becker posted a 0.97 goals against average and a .811 save percentage. Her 13 wins and 11 shutouts both rank first in the league.
Maddison Ackiss is Gustavus’s leading goal scorer with nine – including four game-winners – and she has added two assists for a team-high 20 points. Ackiss has also taken the most shots at 58 with a .155 shot percentage, and a .586 shot-on-goal percentage.
Sophie Leininger has been a major factor in the Gusties’ offensive production this season as she has a team-leading nine assists. She also has added a goal for 11 points. Her nine assists are one away from tying the Gustavus single season assist record.
Josie Mazzone is a leader on the Gustie defense that ranks fourth in the MIAC with a 0.97 goals against average. Mazzone has also contributed two assists.
Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) was named Honorable Mention after recording three goals and six assists and Kendyl Landeck (Jr., Moscow, Idaho) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Josie Mazzone
Maddison Ackiss
Sophie Leininger
Ashley Becker
Posted on November 12th, 2015 by CJ Siewert
Saturday, November 7, 2015
MIAC PLAYOFF CHAMPIONS!
Posted on November 7th, 2015 by Nick Hoelmer
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s soccer team is going dancing. Thanks to a goal from Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) directly off a corner kick midway through the second half, the Gusties earned a 1-0 victory over the University of St. Thomas in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff Championship game on Saturday afternoon at South Field. The win clinches the first MIAC Playoff Championship for Gustavus in program history, and the Gusties also earn the MIAC’s automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.
“I’m almost speechless … this is fantastic,” said Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie following the game. “The girls came out as if they had no nerves and played our style of soccer from the start. We focused on finding our feet, being creative, and doing the little things, and those little things certainly paid off in the end.”
The Gusties threatened in their offensive zone from the start, as two early corner kicks from Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) in the first 10 minutes of the game led to dangerous shot-on-goal opportunities for the Black and Gold. However, Tommie goalkeeper Tarynn Theilig made saves on each to keep the score knotted at 0-0 early. Senior forward Brittany Chase (Victoria, Minn.) also had a great look on goal at the 35 minute mark, rocketing a shot from the top of the box, but Theilig made another nice save to preserve the tie. Overall, the Gusties tallied seven first half shots to the Tommies’ four.
“When you get to the MIAC Championship, you know that both teams and their players are going to be quality and St. Thomas was no exception,” said Burnett-Kurie. “We missed out on some opportunities early, but we were able to keep pushing and keep shooting, knowing the dam would eventually break and that’s what happened.”
The dam broke indeed, as Miller blasted a corner kick just over the outstretched hands of Theilig and into the upper righthand corner of the net 12:23 into the second half to give the Gusties the 1-0 advantage. The goal was Miller’s fifth of the season and proved to be the game-winner, as Gustie goalie Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) was able to keep out the Tommie’s three shot attempts following the goal to clinch the victory.
Becker earned the win between the posts for Gustavus, playing the entire 90 minutes and making three saves in her 11th shutout of the season. The rookie ‘keeper is now 13-6-1 on the year.
The playoff championship marks a significant turnaround for a Gustie team that finished its 2014 season 2-13-3. “This team has a high level of camaraderie and decided they wanted to turn it up a notch this season,” concluded Burnett-Kurie. “Last year, we knew we could play and do these things, but it’s tough when you don’t get the results. This year, the team came in and said losing was too easy and that they wanted to win. That was the turning point … they just needed to get over the mental hump, which is a difficult thing to do, so I’m really proud of them.”
With a spot in the NCAA Tournament now in hand, Gustavus will now await the release of the national tournament bracket, which will be announced during the Division III Women’s Soccer Selection Show on Monday, November 9 at noon (CST).
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| The Gustavus Adolphus College women's soccer claimed the MIAC Playoff Championship with a 1-0 victory over St. Thomas at South Field. (Photo courtesy of Matt Higgins, MIAC Assistant Executive Director) |
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s soccer team is going dancing. Thanks to a goal from Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) directly off a corner kick midway through the second half, the Gusties earned a 1-0 victory over the University of St. Thomas in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff Championship game on Saturday afternoon at South Field. The win clinches the first MIAC Playoff Championship for Gustavus in program history, and the Gusties also earn the MIAC’s automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.
“I’m almost speechless … this is fantastic,” said Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie following the game. “The girls came out as if they had no nerves and played our style of soccer from the start. We focused on finding our feet, being creative, and doing the little things, and those little things certainly paid off in the end.”
The Gusties threatened in their offensive zone from the start, as two early corner kicks from Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) in the first 10 minutes of the game led to dangerous shot-on-goal opportunities for the Black and Gold. However, Tommie goalkeeper Tarynn Theilig made saves on each to keep the score knotted at 0-0 early. Senior forward Brittany Chase (Victoria, Minn.) also had a great look on goal at the 35 minute mark, rocketing a shot from the top of the box, but Theilig made another nice save to preserve the tie. Overall, the Gusties tallied seven first half shots to the Tommies’ four.
“When you get to the MIAC Championship, you know that both teams and their players are going to be quality and St. Thomas was no exception,” said Burnett-Kurie. “We missed out on some opportunities early, but we were able to keep pushing and keep shooting, knowing the dam would eventually break and that’s what happened.”
The dam broke indeed, as Miller blasted a corner kick just over the outstretched hands of Theilig and into the upper righthand corner of the net 12:23 into the second half to give the Gusties the 1-0 advantage. The goal was Miller’s fifth of the season and proved to be the game-winner, as Gustie goalie Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) was able to keep out the Tommie’s three shot attempts following the goal to clinch the victory.
Becker earned the win between the posts for Gustavus, playing the entire 90 minutes and making three saves in her 11th shutout of the season. The rookie ‘keeper is now 13-6-1 on the year.
The playoff championship marks a significant turnaround for a Gustie team that finished its 2014 season 2-13-3. “This team has a high level of camaraderie and decided they wanted to turn it up a notch this season,” concluded Burnett-Kurie. “Last year, we knew we could play and do these things, but it’s tough when you don’t get the results. This year, the team came in and said losing was too easy and that they wanted to win. That was the turning point … they just needed to get over the mental hump, which is a difficult thing to do, so I’m really proud of them.”
With a spot in the NCAA Tournament now in hand, Gustavus will now await the release of the national tournament bracket, which will be announced during the Division III Women’s Soccer Selection Show on Monday, November 9 at noon (CST).
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Women’s Soccer Advances To MIAC Championship, Blanks Concordia 2-0
Posted on November 4th, 2015 by CJ Siewert
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| Maddison Ackiss scored what proved to be the game-winner just 2:45 into the game. (photo courtesy of AJ Dahm, SPX Sports) |
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team shut out Concordia College 2-0 in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs on Wednesday, marking the first postseason victory for the Gusties since 1998 in their first ever MIAC Playoff game. The Gusties improve to 12-6-1 overall and face No. 1 seed St. Thomas in the conference championship at 1 p.m. Saturday in St. Paul.
“The girls and all the other players before us have worked hard to get the program back to this stage and that’s really exciting,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “It’s great to finally see all that work pay off. We went from near the bottom of the conference to now going to the conference championship game.”
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| Sophie Leininger battles for possession with Concordia’s Alexandra Jones. (photo by AJ Dahm) |
It only took 2:45 for the Gusties to take the lead as Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) found the back of the net for her ninth goal of the season on an assist from Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.). The goal gave the Gusties a major boost of energy and it proved to be the game winner. Neither team found the net in the remainder of the first half and Gustavus led 1-0 after 45 minutes.
The Gusties started the second half similar to the first as Emily Odermatt (So., Minneapolis, Minn.)scored her third goal of the season 8:50 into the second. Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.)was credited with the assist. Concordia posed a few scoring threats in the second half, but Gustie keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) kept everything in front of her, totaling four saves on the day.
Concordia took five shots in each half for a total of 10, while Gustavus took eight shots in each half for a total of 16. Gustavus also led in corner kicks 5-3.
“Just the fact that the field from Saturday is soft and there was a lot of wind today, I thought that we did a good job of overcoming those uncontrollable factors,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We put high pressure on. We knew we needed to high press them because they are a great team and they have a lot of talented players. We put together a full 90 minutes where we were able to high press them and really get after it.”
Gustavus now travels to St. Paul on Saturday for the MIAC Championship against St. Thomas, who defeated Augsburg 2-0 today. In the regular season matchup, the Gusties defeated the Tommies 2-1 on Sept. 26 in St. Peter.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Both teams like to try to find feet and they like to try to possess the ball and those games are always entertaining to watch. Our biggest focus now is to continue to work on the things that got us to this point. Going back to the fundamentals and doing all the little things right is going to be the difference. It’s our first time in the conference championship game, but our girls are up for it and it’s going to be a great battle.”
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