The Gustavus women’s soccer team opened up MIAC play with a with 3-1 loss to Carleton on Wednesday afternoon in Northfield, Minn. Carleton’s Niki Tomita opened and closed the match with goals at the 15:17 (1-0) and 89:05 (3-1) marks of the match. Gustavus’s lone goal came from first-year midfielder Amanda Cartony in the 82nd minute. Gustavus falls to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC, while Carleton improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC.
“The score line was not what we wanted, but as a team I think we learned a little bit more about ourselves. It is a long season and you don’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you just might find you get what you need,” commented head coach Mike Stehlik after the match.
Carleton out-shot Gustavus 9-4 in the opening frame, while holding the corner kick advantage 2-1. Tomita put Carleton up 1-0 with a goal on an assist from teammate Marlena Hartman-Filson.
Carleton held on to the 1-0 lead for more than 55 minutes. Attacker Cassie Burke broke the scoring drought and extended Carleton’s lead to 2-0 at the 70:37 mark. Hartman-Filson recorded her second assist of the match on the Burke goal. Gustavus cut the lead to 2-1 when Cartony knocked in a one-timer from Meghan Faricy with less than eight minutes to play, but Tomita spoiled any hope of a Gustavus comeback with an unassisted goal with less than a minute remaining in the match, bringing the score to a final at 3-1.
Gustavus played a much-improved game in the second half, out-shooting the Knights 9-6 within the frame. Carleton held the shots advantage in the match 15-13, while Gustavus held the corner kick advantage 5-3. Both teams registered nine shots on target, yet Carleton keeper Beth Ashinshy was able to make eight saves on the way to her third win of the season.
Gustavus goalkeeper Chelsea Bayer made a total of six saves, as she falls to 4-2 on the season. Cartony’s second half goal is her sixth of the season. She currently leads the team in points with 13.
The Gustavus women’s soccer team will return to the soccer pitch on Saturday, Sept. 18 for a match against Concordia at 1:00pm in St. Peter, Minn.