The Gustavus women’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Bethel on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, MN. The game went scoreless for 102 minutes before Bethel freshman Kelsey Flaherty scored the game winner giving Bethel the 1-0 victory. With the win, Bethel moves to 10-5-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the MIAC, while Gustavus drops to 6-7-3 overall and 2-6-1 in the MIAC.
The Gustavus defense was forced to battle all afternoon as Bethel held the zone and controlled the ball for much of the game. At the 102 minute mark of the second overtime, Gustavus suffered a slight letdown that opened the door for Bethel’s Kelsey Flaherty. Flaherty received a pass from teammate Brittany Griffore putting her in postion at the top of the goal box with the ball. Flaherty made one deke, lost her defender, and buried the ball in the back of the net for the game winner.
The Gusties still struggled to find shots and scoring as they entered the match having scored just two goals in their previous five games. Gustavus senior Rachel Iblings had the best Gustavus scoring chance of the afternoon when she hit the top corner post on penalty kick in the 87th minute. The Gusties were out-shot in the game 18-6 and lost the corner kick advantage 7-3.
It was senior day at the Gustie Soccer Field as five seniors were honored for their years of commitment and dedication to the women’s soccer program. A special thanks goes out to seniors Kirsten Thulien, Becca Hagen, Rachel Iblings, Alison Dittmer, and Megan Gode.