Callie Christensen scored the only goal for Gustavus
Alison Dittmer controls the ball
Becca Hagen looks to pass
The Gustavus women’s soccer team gave up two second half goals to Augsburg College to fall 2-1 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match in St. Peter, Minn Tuesday night. Senior Callie Christensen gave the Gusties an early lead when she scored on a corner kick in the 20th minute. Augsburg came back in the second half to score two goals in the first 14 minutes. Gustavus falls to 4-6-2 overall (2-3-1 in the MIAC), while Augsburg improves to 8-1-3 overall (4-0-3 in the MIAC).
Gustavus controlled the tempo of the match throughout the first half and held a slight 4-3 advantage in shots. The Gusties were able to get on the scoreboard early when senior Callie Christensen scored off a corner kick just 19:06 into the match. Gustavus earned the corner when an Augsburg defender blocked senior Christy Tupy’s shot over the end line. Christensen swung a right-footed cross to the front of the goal, where it deflected off an Auggie defender’s leg and past goalkeeper Maggie DeGroot. Christensen’s second goal of the season gave the Gusties a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
As the rain clouds moved past Gustie Soccer Field and the sun appeared, the Augsburg offense came alive. It started the second half with energy and scored two goals in the first 19 minutes of the half to take a 2-1 lead. Augsburg’s Courtney Gamrath got her first goal of the season when she collected a pass from Lisa Weniger and took a quick shot that caught Gustavus goalkeeper Ashley Ohlson by surprise and slipped just inside the left post to tie the game at one. The Auggies struck again in the 59th minute when Katie Medd scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Lacey Hoover flicked an Augsburg throw-in past a Gustie defender to Medd, who fired a shot from ten yards out beating an outstretched Ohlson to the top left corner. The goal gave Augsburg a 2-1 lead.
The Gusties had a great opportunity to tie the game late in the half as Tupy crossed the ball to Meghan Faricy, who had her shot blocked to the feet of Meghan McMillan with only seven minutes remaining in regulation. McMillan got off a shot from point blank range, but DeGroot was right there to make the save. Both DeGroot and Ohlson finished the match recording four saves. Ohlson drops to 3-4-2 on the season and had her streak of minutes played without allowing a goal end at 295:17. DeGroot improves to 8-1-3 on the season.
Gustavus will remain at home for its next match on Saturday, October 11 against the Royals from Bethel University. Game time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. with the men’s team following the match at 1:00 p.m.