ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team is set to host St. Olaf College at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for its second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match. The Gusties enter with a 1-3-1 overall record and 1-0 mark in the MIAC, while the Oles are 1-2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Live online coverage of tomorrow’s match begins at 3:30 p.m.
The Gusties are coming off their first win of the season as they defeated Macalester College 2-0 Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn. to begin conference play. The win marked the first time since 1995 the Gusties beat Macalester, ending a stretch that included 17 losses and one tie.
Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored both of the Gustie goals Tuesday, while keeper Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate win in shutout fashion.
The first goal of the night came in the 20th minute as Brittany Chase (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) found Ackiss from the right side for an open look at the net. Macalester outshot Gustavus 6-5 in the first half, but the Gusties carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the 69th minute, Ackiss found the back of the net for her second score of the night – this time on a long pass from the left by Coursey Edwards (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.). The shot was from 15 yards out.
The Scots rattled off nine more shots in the second half, but none of them made it through as Becker tallied seven saves for the Black and Gold. The Gusties finished the night with 11 shots compared to 15 by the Scots.
After five matches, Ackiss leads the Gusties with four of the team’s eight goals. Chase is close behind with three scores on the season. Becker has played between the posts in every minute of all five matches with a 1.67 goals against average and a .791 save percentage.
St. Olaf is also coming off its first win of the season to start its MIAC schedule. The Oles defeated Bethel University 3-0 Tuesday in Northfield, Minn.
The Oles’ first and third goals were scored by Madison Van Wylen (Sr., Holland, Mich.) with assists from Lauren Martin (Jr., Thornton, Colo.) and Abby Stets (So., Northfield, Minn.). The second was scored by Kajsa Brindley (Sr., Lexington, Ky.) off a rebound from a corner kick. St. Olaf had a 13-6 advantage in shots and a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Van Wylen leads the Ole offense with three goals in five matches. Ruth Hesse (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) has played keeper every minute of all five matches with a 1.65 goals against average and a .640 save percentage.