St. Peter, Minn. – Three Macalester first half goals proved too much to overcome for the Gustie women’s soccer team, as it dropped its season finale 3-0 to the Scots on Saturday at the Gustie Soccer Field. Two goals by Georgia Cloepfil and another by Lydia Chodosh gave the Scots all they needed heading in to halftime with a three-goal lead. With the loss, the Gusties finish the season 6-11-0 overall and 3-8-0 in the MIAC, while the Scots improve to 10-6-1 overall and 6-4-1 in the MIAC.
“We played fairly well,” remarked Laura Burnett-Kurie. “There were times in the first half where we broke down and they were able to capitalize and put the ball in the back of the net.”
It took all of 1:28 for Macalester to get on the scoreboard when Lydia Chodosh took a rebound and found the back of the net to give the Scots a 1-0 lead in the early going. Gustavus countered with offensive chances of their own, but could not capitalize before the MIAC’s leading scorer Georgia Cloepfil got in to the act.
At the 14:44 mark, Cloepfil took a strike from the top of the box and blew it past Gustavus goalkeeper Jessica Richert (Freeburg, Ill.) for her 14th goal of the season. Cloepfil struck again at the 21:45 mark when she snuck behind the Gustie defense, took a pass from Margaret Nemetz beat Richert in the lower left corner of the goal for her second goal on the afternoon. From there, the Scots would take the three-goal lead to the intermission, as neither team was able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the first half.
The Gusties came out of the break with all hands on deck. After allowing 15 Macalester shots in the first half, the defense stiffened in the second, and allowed 11 shots. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Richert seemed to be everywhere after the intermission with a number of acrobatic saves. The senior notched six saves in the half and brought her total to nine on the afternoon.
Offensively, the Gustie women created a number of dangerous opportunities in the final frame. In the 75th minute, a beautiful pass from Amanda Cartony (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) led Anna Basil (Fy., Maple Grove, Minn.) in to the box, but Basil’s touch missed just wide left. Maggie Lane (Sr., Saginaw, Minn.) had a chance in the 89th minute on a cross from fellow senior Nikki Carlson (Plymouth, Minn.), but Lane’s drive was scooped up by Macalester goalkeeper Ellen Palmquist, and another Gustie chance was extinguished, which left the final score at 3-0 in favor of the Scots.
“Our record doesn’t indicate how much we improved this season,” mentioned Burnett-Kurie. “We competed in every game and we were able to play our style of play against everyone we played, which is a testament to the leadership of these seniors. They kept fighting through every game, and it was contagious to the underclassmen as well.”
Saturday marked the final match in a Gustie uniform for five seniors on this year’s team. Maggie Lane, Nikki Carlson, Tam Meuwissen (Chanhassen, Minn.), Kristin Moen (St. Paul, Minn.), and Jessica Richert were recognized for their dedication and commitment to the Gustavus women’s soccer program over their career.
“I will take so much from this soccer program,” stated senior Maggie Lane. “Friendship, dedication, hard work, and how to have fun just to name a few.”
A scrappy forward, Lane scored two goals this season to go along with one assist for a total of five points. She finishes her career with three goals and one assist for seven points.
A staple of the Gustavus defense throughout her tenure, Carlson has played in all but eight games wearing a Gustie uniform. She has played in 61 matches in her four years anchoring the back line for the Black and Gold.
After joining the team in 2011, Meuwissen has asserted herself as a dangerous threat offensively for the Golden Gusties. She finished the season as the second leading scorer for the Gustie women with four goals and two assists for 10 points. Meuwissen finishes her career with five goals and two assists for 12 points.
A consistent contributor in the midfield, Moen has played in all but nine games in her tenure donning the three crowns. She has scored eight goals in her career, one of which came this season. She has also amassed three assists for a total of 19 points in her four years.
A staple in net for the Gusties for 33 consecutive matches, Richert finishes her career with 282 saves, which ranks third on the all-time saves list at Gustavus. Richert accumulated 138 saves this season, and eclipsed the 100-save mark each of the past two season.
“It has been everything you can imagine,” said Nikki Carlson. “Being apart of a team is something that not everyone gets to do. Playing soccer is something that I have always loved to do, and getting to do it for four more years has been a blessing. I am going to miss it a lot.”
The Gustavus Athletic Department would like to thank each of the seniors for their contributions to the Gustavus women’s soccer program throughout their careers.