Alison Dittmer fights for position and the ball.
Jenna Iaizzo kicks the ball while under pressure from an Eagle.
Rachel Gieseke plays the ball.
Megan Tepper and an Eagle look to make a play on the ball.
The Gustavus women’s soccer team fell to UW-La Crosse 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in St. Peter. Jenna Iaizzo scored the Gusties’ only goal in the 64th minute. Gustavus’ record drops to 5-8-2 on the season, while UW-L improves to 5-5-3 overall.
Despite many chances, neither team was able to score in the first 45 minutes of play. The Gusties had several scoring opportunities in the last five minutes of the half but were unable to capitalize.
In the 64th minute, Amy Larson (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) controlled the ball in the corner of the offensive zone and saw Iaizzo (Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) running toward the net. Larson passed the ball over to Iaizzo, who deflected the ball into the corner of the net to give Gustavus a one-goal lead. However, the lead didn’t last long as Jennifer Watry, just four minutes later, kicked the ball from 50 feet out over the head of Gustavus goalkeeper Kelsey Dietz (Fy., Owatonna, Minn.) into the corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Megan Knutson recorded the assist on the goal for UW-L.
It looked like the game would be decided in overtime as both teams were playing exceptional defense, but at the 85:06 mark the Eagles scored the game-winning goal. With the ball in front of the net, Mandy Rue passed to Amy Todd, who shot it across the net and out of the reach of Dietz.
Dietz recorded two saves in the loss for Gustavus, while UW-L’s Amanda Clark made five saves for the win. The Gusties held an advantage in both shots, 9-7, and corner kicks, 4-0.
Gustavus will return to its conference schedule when it hosts Hamline in St. Peter on Saturday at 1pm.