Staying Strong against St. Mary's

 After a couple tough losses, the Gusties decided to kick it in gear and put up a fight against St. Mary's on Wednesday afternoon.  After trailing 0-1 within the first five minutes of the game, we knew our intensity must be taken up a few notches.  Our offense pushed their creativity and found the back of the net a couple times to pull off the win.

 

Below is the game recap by Trent Jackson.

Ackiss Leads Women’s Soccer Over Saint Mary’s

Posted on September 28th, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Maddison Ackiss sprints past Saint Mary's goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson to tap in one of her two goals. (photo courtesy of Kegan Couture '20)

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
ST. PETER, Minn. – Maddison Ackiss (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) recorded two goals to propel the Gustavus women’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Saint Mary’s University Wednesday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field.
With the win the Gusties tallied their fifth of the season, moving to 5-2-2 overall and 2-2 in the MIAC. Saint Mary’s drops to 2-6-1 overall and 0-4 in the MIAC. The win also proves to be the first come from behind win of the season for the Gusties, and their fourth win at home to stay unbeaten at Gustie Soccer Field.

Josie Mazzone (photo courtesy of AJ Dahm, SPX Sports)

“We know every conference game is hard and it’s always great to play at home,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “There’s something special about playing at home and our girls ended up pulling out the win, which is good to see.”
The Cardinals got on the board early just two and a half minutes into the game when Anna Taylor crossed the ball and Becca Dup converted for her third goal of the season.
Gustavus quickly moved forward after the early Cardinal goal as they were able to find the back of the net at the 18th minute mark. Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) booted a ball past midfield and Ackiss ran past Saint Mary’s defenders to put away her second goal of the season. Becker’s assist was the first of her career.
“Coming from behind is always a daunting task so it was nice to be able to rebound from that. We made some adjustments in the first half and we started to figure some things out. In the second half we definitely created more dangerous opportunities for ourselves,” Burnett-Kurie said.
An even first half left the score tied at 1-1 as the Gusties and Cardinals registered three shots each.

Hannah Sturtz (Kegan Couture ’20)

In the second half the Black and Gold took control. At the 47th minute, Jana Elliott (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) notched her team-leading fourth assist of the season when she made a great through ball over the Cardinal defense to Ackiss, scoring her second goal of the game and third of the season which proved to be the game-winner.
“She’s (Ackiss) deadly, especially in the final third. It’s somehting where other teams are going to target that. It’s been nice so far this season that we have had so many people get on the scoresheet, so teams know that other people can score on the team. Now we have to continue to get her looks along with other players to balance it out,” Burnett-Kurie commented.
Ackiss led the Gusties with three shots on goal while Gustavus led Saint Mary’s in shots 7-4 and corner kicks 7-1.
Next up Gustavus hosts Carleton College Saturday for a homecoming matchup at 1 p.m.

Olaf Takes the Win

 It was a challenging game for us Gusties, physically and mentally, as we needed to come together as one to find our rhythm.  However, it just was not in the cards for us, and St. Olaf put up a more consistent 90 minutes to win.  There is hardly a team who can end conference play with a perfect record, and we understand we will not always win, but we must use this as a learning opportunity to move forward.

 

Here is CJ's game recap below.

Women’s Soccer Suffers First Loss Of Season, 3-1 At St. Olaf

Posted on September 17th, 2016 by CJ Siewert

BOX SCORE
NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday at St. Olaf by the score of 3-1, dropping to 4-1-1 overall and 1-1-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The three goals against also marked the first goals scored against the Gusties all season.
“St. Olaf definitely deserved the win” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “It was a great learning experience for us. We knew this year was going to be tough and we have to find an edge to our game in order to win. We ended up turning it on and had some moments, but we didn’t have those players step up that need to step up. It’s a great learning opportunity for us to realize that we need those players to step up.  One loss isn’t going to break our season, but now we need to see how well we can rebound.”
The Oles wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as they scored the first goal in the eighth minute. Six minutes later the Oles added another goal off a corner kick to take a 2-0 advantage. Another St. Olaf corner kick resulted in the third goal of the game as a header found the back of the net in the 22^nd minute.
The Gusties broke the shutout in the 28^th minute as Abby Mullenbach (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal, assisted by Josie Mazzone (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.). Neither team could find the goal in the second half and the home team walked away with a 3-1 victory.
Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) suffered her first loss of the season after making seven saves.
Gustavus continues MIAC play Thursday at UW-Eau Claire.

Gusties Defeat Mighty MAC

 As we start conference play, our game against Macalester had to make a statement -it had to set the tone for the season.  We must be hungry to prove to ourselves, our school, and the MIAC that Gustavus Women's Soccer is ready to contend for the regular season title.  We knew going into this game that a win would not come so easily, as Macalester only gave up one conference play loss last year -to us. They were out for their first win of the MIAC season too and redemption from the previous year.  With intelligence, grit, and desire from the amount of depth on our team, we came out on top at the last whistle.

Below is a recap of the game.

 

Women’s Soccer Blanks Macalester 2-0

Posted on September 13th, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Jana Elliott moves the ball up the field. (photo courtesy of Gunnar Ledin '20)

BOX SCORE

ST. PETER, Minn. – Gustavus women’s soccer opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Play with a victory over Macalester College Tuesday. The Gusties shutout the Scots by a final score of 2-0 to record their fifth shutout on the season.

Gustavus moves to 4-0-1 (1-0 MIAC) on the season while Macalester falls to 3-1-1 (0-1 MIAC).

Goalkeeper Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves to keep the shutout theme rolling. Becker and the Gusties have yet to allow through five games.

“We battled hard,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “There were a lot of momentum shifts in the game. For a period of time I thought we controlled the tempo, and then Macalester would control it. In the second half, we were smart and we finished strong.”

Gustavus got on the board at the 34th minute of the first period. Jana Elliott (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) squeezed the ball through the Macalester defenders, giving Paula Miller (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.) a partial breakaway as she put home her second goal of the season.

The Gusties and Macalester traded chances throughout the game but the Gusties smart and consistent defensive play shutdown the Scots. Gustavus led Macalester in shots (11-10) and shots on goal (6-5).

Grace Brustad and teammates celebrate her first career goal in Black and Gold. (Gunnar Ledin ’20)

Late in the second period, Emily Skogseth (So., Burnsville, Minn.) made some nice moves to get past Macalester defenders and centered the ball to Grace Brustad (So., Edina, Minn.), who put in her first collegiate goal.

“We talk a lot about building our soccer IQ and our all-around play so when we’re in games like today, they understand what to do,” Burnett-Kurie said. “It was awesome to get a goal in the last minute or so to kind of seal it.”

The Gusties now have 14 different players to have found their names in the season scoring column, using their team depth to their advantage.

“Being able to have a lot of players put the ball in the back of the net and knowing that we don’t need to rely on one or two individuals is great for us. Having so much depth on our bench allows to play a lot of players and keep our legs fresh,” said Burnett-Kurie.

Next the Gusties continue conference play as they head to Northfield, Minn. Saturday at 1 p.m. to take on rival St. Olaf College.

“We know that Macalester is a top contender in the MIAC so it was a good test for us in our first conference game,” Burnett-Kurie commented. “We just have to take it one game at a time because everyone in the MIAC knows that it’s super competitive from top to bottom. It was great to be able to battle at that level and now we’re setting the tempo for St. Olaf on Saturday.

Gusties Take the Crown

Just like each season, the Gusties were extremely excited for the first home game during school!  It was great playing Crown to prepare for conference play, as we were able to get all field players into the game, and break the goal scoring ice for the season.  

 

Here is a recap of the game below.

Women’s Soccer Wins Big Over Crown College 8-0

Posted on September 9th, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Laura Johnson led the Gusties with a goal and two assists.

BOX SCORE
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team defeated Crown College by a convincing score of 8-0 Friday, earning their fourth consecutive shutout.

The Gusties move to 3-0-1 overall on the season with the shutout. The Black and Gold compiled 51 shots, 26 of them on goal and eight different Gusties found the back of the net.

“We saw a little different style of defense as they sat back a little bit more,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “A big thing was being able to commit so many numbers forward while still being solid defensively. It was nice for us to try to break that down and we did some things that we’ve been working on in practice.”

All three Gustavus goalkeepers in Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.), Riley Viner (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) and Roisen Granlund (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) saw time in goal to combine for the shutout. The Black and Gold defense made the goalkeeper’s job easy as they didn’t allow one shot from Crown College.

Emily Skogseth (So., Burnsville, Minn) got the scoring spree started at the 15th minute, her first on the season proved to be the game-winner and was assisted by Grace Brustad (So., Edina, Minn.).

Seven other Gusties recorded their first goals of the season while 11 total Gusties made their way on to the scoresheet. Laura Johnson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) led Gustavus with a goal and two assists. Judith Hepburn (Fy., North Pole, Alaska) also posted two assists, her first collegiate points.

Jana Elliott (Sr., Eagan, Minn.), Kylie Lamberty (So., Sioux Falls, S.D) and Maggie Leininger (Fy., Plymouth, Minn.) all scored their first career goals in Black and Gold.

“It’s nice to get on the scoring sheet and get some player’s confidence up. A lot of times goal scoring is just about breaking the ice, and then they start to flow. Hopefully we can feed off of that. A big thing is switching mentally from non-conference to conference play, the most important part of our season,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Gustavus looks to keep the momentum rolling into next week as they head into MIAC play. The Gusties host Macalester Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Right in it with UW-River Falls

Against River Falls, we found ourselves in a dangerous rhythm attacking at times, but just could not put one up on the board.  It was an even match throughout the game, as both teams posses an immense amount of talent and play with a lot of heart.  Both teams gained momentum for the season ahead.

 

 Below is the game recap.

Women’s Soccer Ties In Double Overtime At UW-River Falls

Posted on September 7th, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Ashley Becker recorded her third consecutive shutout.

BOX SCORE

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Gustavus women’s soccer and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls ended in a 0-0 stalemate after double overtime Wednesday night at  Ramer Soccer Field.

The Gusties move to 2-0-1 overall and UW-River Falls is now 0-2-1.
Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) continues to shutdown opponents as she made four saves to record her third consecutive and 14th career shutout. Her 110 minutes played ties a career-high.

An even first half concluded with the Gusties and UW-River Falls both having five attempted shots on goal.

“River Falls is a constant threat in behind, which tested our defenders. After a fairly open beginning 25 minutes where the game was going from goal to goal, our defense started to settle down and prevent them from creating many dangerous opportunities,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.

Neither squad could find the back of the net in the second period or the two overtimes. Gustavus outshot UW-River Falls 15-10 and 5-4 in shots on goal. Maddison Ackiss (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) led the Gusties with three shots on goal.

“Overall it was an exciting game,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We have been working on connecting more and finding our rhythm in the attack and we made huge strides today. At times we looked incredibly sharp moving the ball up the field and building into the attack. Our attack looked much better and we consistently found ourselves with numbers up in dangerous positions. We forced not only their goalkeeper but their back line to come up with some big plays. We hit a couple posts and had the ball cleared off the line a few times, a goal just wasn’t in the cards for us today.”

Gustavus returns home to battle Crown College at 4 p.m. Friday at Gustie Soccer Field.

“At the end, it was a great battle for us and a game we can take confidence from.  There are always positives you can take away from a well played game and we are excited to shift our focus on to Crown College on Friday,” said Burnett-Kurie.

Gutted Out the Game Winning Goal

 The Gusties were pumped up for our home opener, and determined to post-up a win! Each time we play UW-Lacrosse, the outcome of the game is never taken lightly.  With Wisconsin being a physical team, not only did we have to match their intensity, but we had to take it to the next level.  The result of the game came down to who wanted it more.  It was a great battle by all.

Below is the game recap.

Women’s Soccer Earns Shutout In Home Opener

Posted on September 3rd, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Chase Miller scored the game-winning goal for the Gusties. 

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Women’s Soccer team defeated the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1-0 in their home opener Saturday afternoon at the Gustie Soccer Field.

A highly paced and physical game featured a scoreless first half. The Gusties were outshot by UW-La Crosse but strong defense led the Black and Gold to victory.

Ashley Becker

Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) recorded her second consecutive and 13th career shutout. She also tied a career-high with nine saves.

“She’s a great force back there and is always super consistent,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie spoke about Becker. “It gives our team a lot of confidence moving forward. If we do have breakdowns, we have someone back there that’s going to step up in those moments. After she makes some of those big saves, we kind of feed off of it and it helps us out a lot.”

Chase Miller (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored her first goal of the season in the 86th minute of the second period, which proved to be the game-winner and lone goal of the match. Miller booted a free kick from the half-way line that took a bounce over the UW-La Crosse goalkeeper and into the net.

“It’s always an intense game with UW-La Crosse. They’re a good team and they like to play just like we do and we definitely get into it,” said Burnett-Kurie. “We kind of gutted it out. The wind helped in the second half, we were going against it in the first half, it certainly helped in the second half. We had some good players step up.”

The Gustavus win moves them to 2-0 overall on the season, while UW-Lacrosse is now 1-1 overall.

“We made better strides. It’s always an adjustment getting used to playing with each other again. Having a target on our back more so than we did last year and getting used to that is going to be big. We still have a long way to go so it’s just taking it game-by-game and practice-by-practice,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Gustavus returns to action September 7 as they travel to River Falls, Wis. to take take on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Winning at Wesleyan

 September 1st marked the end of preseason, and the first win of the season for us Gusties.  Finding a rhythm and switching gears to game mode was tough for us the first half, and Nebraska Wesleyan tested us both mentally and physically.  At halftime we made the decision that losing was not an option.  And with that mentality leading into the second half, great combinations were created by the Gusties for success.

Here is the game recap posted below.

Women’s Soccer Spoils Nebraska Wesleyan’s Home Opener, Posts 3-0 Shutout

Posted on September 1st, 2016 by Trent Jackson

Junior defender Josie Mazzone scored her first collegiate goal and the game-winner for the Gusties. 

BOX SCORE
 
LINCOLN, Neb. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team opened its season with a 3-0 victory at Nebraska Wesleyan University Thursday.

Goaltender Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves to record her 12th career shutout and the Gusties received goals from Josie Mazzone (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.) and Hannah Sturtz (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.).

The first period left both squads scoreless.

“Nebraska Wesleyan took it to us and we struggled to find our rhythm in the first half,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We made some adjustments in the second half and some of our veterans picked it up and played with some fire and grit. We found ourselves in more control of the ball and started to play the way we want and know we can.”

Mazzone wasted little time in the second period, scoring her first collegiate goal just two and a half minutes in with an assist from Paula Miller (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.). Mazzone streaked down the right side to receive the ball inside the box, settled it well and calmly placed it inside the netting on the far side. “It was awesome to have her score such a great goal as she’s been such a consistent player throughout her career,” said Burnett-Kurie.

Sturtz doubled the Gustie lead in the 81^st minute after Jana Elliott (Sr., Eagan, Minn) played to the ball to Sturtz in the box who cut it back and tucked the ball in the side netting. Sturtz also led Gustavus with two shots on goal. “Hannah came alive last year scoring-wise so it’s awesome to see her break the ice so early in the season,” said Burnett-Kurie.

The Gusties’ third goal resulted from Coursey Edwards (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) doing the dirty work in the middle of the field and then some cheeky combination play in the box between Mazzone and Miller. Their movement and combo play left the Nebraska Wesleyan player sliding for a last ditch effort which resulted in an own goal, giving the Gusties a 3-0 lead in the 89^th minute.

“Emily Odermatt (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) powered our backline to a strong defensive effort. Lucy Thompson (Fy., Edina, Minn.) and Abby Mullenbach (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) played a great first collegiate game. The depth on this team is super exciting and promising. At the end of the day, we are proud of the team for making the appropriate adjustments during the game. It shows a lot about their character, drive, and soccer IQ to make those adjustments and find such success in the first game of the season,” Burnett-Kurie commented.

Gustavus outshot Dakota Wesleyan 7-5, while shots on target were 5-5.

Gustavus women’s soccer returns for the home opener Saturday at noon to take on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at the Gustie Soccer Field.