Winona, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team looked to be on its way to its second consecutive loss after finding itself in a 3-0 hole to Saint Mary’s University on Wednesday evening. However, the Gusties remained resilient and rattled off three straight goals in order to knot the score at 3-3, send the game to overtime and come away with a tie.
“We were certainly disappointed by how slow and disengaged we started,” said head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We can’t be putting ourselves in that kind of hole, but we’re proud that, when we found ourselves down 3-0, we didn’t hang our heads, but instead, fought back and tied it up. Unfortunately we just didn’t have enough left in the tank to finish it off.”
Saint Mary’s scored two of its three goals in the first fifteen minutes of play. Both of those scores came from the MIAC’s leading goal-scorer, Emily Loof, who with the two goals, brought her season total to 10. Loof’s first goal came at the 3:50 mark on an assist from Kelli Harstad, and her second came at 14:16 from Emma Schaefer.
The Cardinal’s Kelli Harstad booted Saint Mary’s third goal at 32:27 to give the home team a comfortable lead. However, Gustavus would fight back to make things interesting.
Maddison Ackiss (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) continued her goal-scoring ways by tallying her seventh goal of the season at the 36:31 mark to cut the Cardinal lead to two. Ackiss has now scored seven of the Gustie’s 12 goals on the season and that total puts her in a tie for third place in the MIAC in goals scored.
Brittany Chase (Jr. Victoria, Minn.) got the Gusties back on the board at the 53:33 mark when she scored on a pass from Ackiss. The goal was Chase’s first of the season. The Gusties were able to find some luck to secure their third goal, as the Cardinals committed an own goal with five minutes to play to tie things up at three. Overtime ensued, but as has been the case all season for the Gusties, the extra periods remained scoreless and the match ended in a tie.
“Overall, the team showed their resilience and their belief in each other and that’s what it’s all about, coming together as a team and figuring out a way to succeed,” said Burnett-Kurie. “If we continue to play with this same attitude, determination and heart, we are going to have a great second half to the season.”
Gustavus will return home this Saturday to take on St. Olaf College on the Gustie Soccer Field. That match will begin at 1 p.m.