St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team got back on track with a 2-1 victory over Buena Vista on a blistery afternoon at the Gustie Soccer Field. The Gusties took a 1-0 lead to halftime on a goal by Kristin Moen (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.), and added to their lead in the second half when Tam Meuwissen (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.) scored at the 66:25 mark. Buena Vista would go on to score with just under 10 minutes to go, but it was too little too late for the Beavers as Gustavus held on to pick up their sixth win of the season. The Gusties improve to 6-8-0 on the season, while the Beavers fall to 9-7-1.
In what was an all but identical first half, the Gusties got on the board first. At the 19:21 mark, senior Kristin Moen played the ball down the right wing to fellow senior Tam Meuwissen, who took a touch and gave it right back to a streaking Moen. Moen ripped a laser between two defenders and past Buena Vista goalkeeper Turissa Moreland for her first goal of the season, and put the Gusties on top 1-0.
“I didn’t even really look at the goal,” said Moen of her goal. “I just went to the ball and the next thing I knew it was in the back of the net. It was an awesome feeling.”
The final 45 minutes brought more of the same. After shooting six times each in the first half, the two squads amounted four shots each in the second half, evening the shot total to 10 apiece for the match. The Gusties pulled out to a 2-0 lead in the 67th minute when Meuwissen snuck behind the Beaver defense and beat Moreland one-on-one for her fourth goal of the season. Meuwissen had another dangerous opportunity eight minutes later in the 75th minute when she took a strike from the left wing that glanced off of the far post to no avail. Buena Vista got into the scoring act in the 81st minute. Tori Carson took a pass from Kelsey O’Connor and found the back of the net to cut the lead to 2-1, but it was all the Beavers could muster for a comeback, as the Gusties came away with the victory.
“It was nice to win on our home field and put the ball in the back of the net. We haven’t scored in a few games, so that’s always great to see,” stated head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We had some moments where we moved the ball really well and got off some good opportunities, especially in the second half.”
Dubbed the first annual “Kicking For The Cause” match, Wednesday afternoon also served as a fundraising event for Yuwa, a nationally based non-profit organization reaching out to girls in rural India. As a part of the event, there were donations given throughout the match, as well as a raffle and a special treat at halftime. The 12-and-under St. Peter girls soccer team got to showcase their talents at the intermission in a 12-minute game, and were also honorary ball girls for the evening. Following the match, there was a silent auction held at Patrick’s On Third. In all, over $550 was raised to support Yuwa.
“Yuwa is an organization that uses team sport to empower young women in rural India. Through soccer they are building leadership skills and confidence in young women in areas where soccer isn’t necessarily a big part of their lives,” remarked coach Burnett-Kurie of the Yuwa fundraiser. “They came down this past spring and met with our team. Our team jumped on board with it, and we went from there. We knew we wanted to promote it somehow, and we think that it’s a great opportunity for us to have a sister soccer program in India. This way, we were able to get their name out there in and around Minnesota.”
The Gustie women will be back in action again on Saturday when they travel to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the University of St. Thomas at 1:00 p.m.