St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team used a gritty performance to defeat Hamline 1-0 on Wednesday. After an even first half, the Pipers controlled a good portion of the second 45 minutes. They fired 14 shots in the second half, but the Gustie defense was there to turn away every Piper opportunity, and held on to the shutout. Amanda Cartony (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) scored the only goal in the match. With the win, Gustavus improves to 5-5-0 on the season, 3-3-0 in the MIAC. Hamline drops to 7-3-1 overall, and 2-3-1 in the MIAC.
The Gusties came out firing and scored their first and only goal of the afternoon 7:03 into the match. Amanda Cartony took a pass that was deflected by the Hamline defense and beat Hamline goalkeeper Molly Jacobs one-on-one to score her fifth goal of the season. Gustavus mounted another dangerous opportunity midway through the first half, but was unable to capitalize, and took a 1-0 lead to intermission.
“We came out with a competitive fire right from the beginning,” stated head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We were able to hold strong in a very physical game.”
The second half was the Gustavus defense’s time to shine. Facing a total of 14 shots throughout the final 45 minutes (six of which were on goal), the Gusties defended flurries of Piper opportunities. The defense blocked four shots in the period, and senior keeper Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) saved the other six on target to keep the shutout in tact. Richert tallied a total of 11 saves on the afternoon.
“Our defense is one of the best assets of this team because we have been playing together for so long,” said Richert. “We communicate really well, and that’s what it all comes down to.”
The Gusties will travel to Arden Hills, Minn. to take on Bethel University on Saturday, Oct. 6th at 11:00 a.m.