Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team gave up three first half goals on the way to a 4-1 loss to St. Olaf on Saturday at Rolf Mellby Field. Kajsa Brindley proved to be too much for the Gusties handle in the match, as she scored all four goals for the Oles. With the loss, Gutavus falls to 5-5-0 overall (1-4-0 MIAC), while St. Olaf improves to 6-4-0 overall (4-1-0 MIAC).
Brindley came out to score two quick goals in the opening 10 minutes to help the Oles jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Her first goal came at the 3:26 mark, while her second goal followed at 9:38.
Later in the half, the sophomore was awarded a penalty kick that she did not let go to waste. Brindley put the ball away in the back of the net to give St. Olaf a 3-0 lead at the 29:41 mark. Gustavus would push back with a scoring chance before the end of the half, but could not put it away as the two teams went to the break with the score 3-0 in favor of the Oles.
“Their forward movement made our backline porous in the first half,” stated Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie of the opening 45 minutes. “Credit needs to be given to Kajsa Brindley for St. Olaf who did very well to finish her chances.”
Brindley added one more goal in the 62nd minute to extend the St. Olaf lead to 4-0, a deficit that proved to be too much to overcome for Gustavus.
The Gusties found something to cheer about in the final minute, however. Brittany Chase (So., Victoria, Minn.) created space for Amanda Cartony (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) to drive inside and draw two defenders before dishing off to Monica Pelkey (Fy., Oak Grove, Minn.) just outside the 18-yard line. Pelkey let one rip that found its way past St. Olaf goalkeeper Nora Forbes and into the back of the net to cut the score to 4-1. For Pelkey, it was her second goal in as many matches.
“We stuck to our game and it eventually paid off as we continued to push forward and improve our movement on and off the ball in the second half,” mentioned Burnett-Kurie. “Despite the deficit at half, we never put our heads down. Mentally it’s tough to continue to fight when the scoreboard reads 4-0, but today we truly fought to the end and saw our hard work pay off in the final minute.”
Gustavus will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 12th when it hosts St. Thomas at the Gustie Soccer Field on Family Weekend. Saturday will also serve as “Alumni Day” for the women’s soccer team. Kick off is set for 1:00 p.m.
“Going into our next game against St. Thomas there is plenty to be pleased about, especially with how Amanda Cartony has been pioneering our attack as the playmaker who continually generates dangerous opportunities,” finished Burnett-Kurie. “Plus, with the creativity displayed by our players in not only joining the attack, but with the ball in the final third, we are excited to see what we can continue to build.