St. Peter, Minn. – It was all systems a go for the Gustavus women’s soccer team on Wednesday night, as the Gusties picked up their first win of the year in a convincing 7-0 win over Martin Luther College. Gustavus improves to 1-2-0 on the year, while Martin Luther moves to 0-2-0.
The Gustie defense proved to be stifling, not allowing the Knights any sniff of the net. On the other end, the Gustie offense tallied 25 shots on the evening. The seven goals scored by the black and gold is the most in a game since a 9-0 victory over Central on September 10, 2010.
Emily Papagapitos (Jr., Maplewood, Minn.) began the scoring for Gustavus 18:51 into the game with a drive from the right wing. Scoring twice more in the opening period, the black and gold took a 3-0 lead into intermission. Liz Underwod (Jr., Fergus Falls, Minn.) found the back of the net in the 24th minute after she drove a shot off the top of Martin Luther goaltender Alison Filter’s fingertips, and Brittany Chase (Fy., Victoria, Minn.) also scored.
The Gustie women opened it up to full throttle in the second half, scoring four more goals. Senior forward Tam Meuwissen (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.) started the action in the 53rd minute when she snuck past the defense and beat the goalie to the top left corner of the net. Forward Amanda Cartony (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) took over from there, scoring two consecutive goals for the Gustie women. Cartony also recorded two assists on the night for six points.
“A lot of it came from my teammates,” stated Cartony of her performance. “We have been working hard, and it feels good to have that hard work pay off.”
First-year Anna Basil (Fy., Maple Grove, Minn.) capped off the scoring for the Gusties with 5:50 to play. Basil’s goal brought the count to 7-0 and left the Gusties triumphant.
Wednesday marked head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie’s first win as a collegiate head coach. “If feels good,” Burnett-Kurie said of her first win. “I liked how we came out stronger than we have in the last couple games. It was a great win, and it was nice to see some people get on the scoreboard.”
The Gusties will travel to St. Bonifacius, Minn., on Saturday to take on Crown College in a non-conference bout. Kick off for that game is set for 1:00 p.m.