Decorah, Iowa – The Gustavus women’s soccer team gave up two early goals in the first period and was unable to erase the deficit, losing 2-1 at Luther College on Sunday.
“Luther came out strong today,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “You could tell they didn’t play a game yesterday and came out very strong. We started to gain some confidence in the latter part of the half.”
The Norse struck first with a goal 11:53 into the first period off a corner kick. Not even two minutes later, Luther was able to find the back of the net once again for a 2-0 lead. The goal came on a header off a cross pass.
The Gusties and Norse played even for the rest of the first period and the score stood 2-0 in favor of the home team at halftime.
“At halftime we made some key adjustments and came out as a different team,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We had an edge to our game and created numerous dangerous opportunities in the first 15-20 minutes.”
At the 54:14 mark in the second, Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) found the back of the net from the right side of the box. The score was unassisted.
“We peppered their goal and Brittany Chase finished her third shot in a short period of time,” Burnett-Kurie said. “A great ball to the far post by Coursey [Edwards] where Britt made a cheeky move around her defender before firing a shot far post side netting.”
Despite making five shots in the second period, the Gusties were unable to score the equalizer and the Norse escaped with a 2-1 victory.
“We had several other close calls with Emily Skogseth seeing her shot from the top of the box barely clear the crossbar,” Burnett-Kurie said. “Maddi Ackiss also played several dangerous crosses into the box, including one to Coursey Edwards far post who saw her shot sail high.
“Luther then pushed the tempo and unfortunately we weren’t able to create much in the last ten minutes.”
The Gusties finished the match with five shots, all coming in the second period. Chase led the way with two shots on goal.
Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) suffered the loss in net for the Gusties. The first-year keeper made five saves with two goals against.
“Despite the outcome we are very excited with how we are playing,” Burnett-Kurie said. “We are still a very young team with 19 first-years and sophomores. We are still trying to develop as a team but we know we have a high ceiling.”
Gustavus moves to 0-2-1 and next travels to UW-La Crosse on Sept. 12 for a 2 p.m. match.