La Crosse, Wis. – In her first collegiate start, Maddison Ackiss (Fy., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored her second goal of the season midway through the first half of Saturday’s women’s soccer match to lift the Gusties to a narrow 1-0 victory over UW-La Crosse. The win is Gustavus’ second in a row and lifts the Gusties to a record of 2-1-0 on the season. Meanwhile, the Eagles drop to 1-2-0 on the year.
After recording three points (1G, 1A) in Monday’s win over UW-Stout, first-year forward Maddison Ackiss kept her offense going with a goal in the 20th minute on Saturday to give the Gusties all the breathing room they would need in the 1-0 victory. Amanda Cartony (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) set the play up by crossing the ball in front to Ackiss, who finished off the left post to score the match’s only goal.
“We came out and played well to start the match,” stated head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We had great ball movement and that’s really what led to the goal. We broke down the right side where Amanda Cartony took advantage of a defense that was over shifted ball-side and found Maddi on the back side. She took a couple of touches and did a fantastic job of finishing off the post and in.”
After leading in the shots category 11-10 at halftime, Gustavus was outshot 12-3 after the intermission. Even with the disadvantage, the Gusties held the Eagles scoreless in the final 45 minutes and recorded their first shutout since October 3rd of last season when they defeated Hamline 1-0.
“Our back line and our goalkeeper came to play today,” mentioned Burnett-Kurie of her team’s defense. “Our two outside backs, Estee Berg (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) and Leah Brossoit (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), played the whole game and really stepped up when we needed to make a play. Caroline also played really well in net. It was great to see her get her first shutout.”
For the game, UW-La Crosse held the advantage in shots (22-14) and corner kicks (11-0), but Gustavus goalkeeper Caroline Olson (Jr., York, Pa.) was up to the challenge, making seven saves on the afternoon in the first shutout of her collegiate career. Olson played all 90 minutes in net to receive the win and improve her record to 2-1-0 on the year while UW-La Crosse Goalkeeper Ashley Tracy suffered the loss.
“It was great to see the leadership that we have step up today,” finished coach Burnett-Kurie. “Today was our first test this season having to really grit out a win. We showed that we not only had the guts and guile to do so, but also the mental toughness it takes to play a full 90 minutes.”
The Gusties will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 11th when they travel to nearby New Ulm to take on Martin Luther College at 3:00 p.m.