St. Peter, Minn. – The 90 minutes of regulation were not enough to decide an outcome on the Gustie Soccer Field Saturday afternoon, as the Gusties dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in overtime to Augsburg. With 2:05 played in overtime, Gustavus keeper Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) made a spectacular save on a Molly Allen shot, but an Auggie bounce put the ball at the feet of Bri Clark, who buried the game winner and propelled Augsburg to the win. The Gusties fall to 5-8-0 overall, and 3-5-0 in the MIAC. The Auggies improve to 9-3-2 overall, and 4-2-2 in the MIAC.
“We played well,” stated head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We tried to move the ball on the ground, we tried to be creative, and it was nice to see. One of our main focuses the last few days was to be more aggressive, be scrappier in the box to create our own scoring opportunities, and I thought we did that. The girls are trying to use the things we have worked on in the game, and I am proud of them for that.”
The Gustie defense shined in the first half of Saturday’s match. The Black and Gold survived numerous flurries of Augsburg chances, as the Auggies went on to outshoot the Gusties 12-to-5 in the first frame. Seven of Augsburg’s 12 shots were saved by Jessica Richert. The Gusties countered with chances of their own, including a breakaway opportunity for Tam Meuwissen (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.), but a nice save by Augsburg goalkeeper Katie Gajewski denied the Gusties a goal and kept the scoreless tie heading in to halftime.
The second half brought much of the same, as Augsburg again outshot Gustavus, this time 9-to-4. However, despite the array of shots, the Gustie defense denied every Auggie chance, including a flurry of shots in the 89th minute, and forced overtime.
The Auggies came out firing in the extra period, once again putting the pressure on the Gustie defense. In the 93rd minute, Auggie Molly Allen took a drive from the right wing that resulted in a diving stop by Richert. However, the deflection found the feet of Augsburg forward Bri Clark, who found the back of the net and gave the Auggies the 1-0 victory.
Gustavus keeper Jessica Richert was seemingly everywhere between the posts the entire afternoon, and racked up 13 saves to show for it. It was the fourth straight match Richert has tallied double-digit saves, and the sixth time this season. With the 13 saves, Richert surpasses the 100-save mark in a season for the second straight year.
“Jess has been holding on to the ball a lot better,” remarked Burnett-Kurie of Richert’s play. “Especially on a wet day like to today, having those sure hands is a nice thing. She is gaining confidence, and that confidence is playing off on to the rest of our team. They are more willing to go forward because they know our back line and our goalkeeper are playing really well.”
The Gusties will be back in action on Wednesday, October 17th when they host Buena Vista University at 4:00 p.m. in St. Peter.