ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team travels to Saint Mary’s University at 7 p.m. Wednesday for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup. The Gusties enter the match with a 4-3-1 overall record and 3-0-0 mark in the MIAC, while the Cardinals are 3-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in the conference.
Live online coverage of tomorrow night’s match begins at 7 p.m.
GUSTAVUS LINKS: ROSTER | STATS
SAINT MARY’S LINKS: ROSTER | STATS
The Gusties enter Wednesday’s match on a four-game win streak and on top of the league standings after defeating St. Thomas 2-1 last Saturday. The match started out slow, but in the 17th minutes Chaselyn Miller (Fy., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) found the back of the net to score her first collegiate goal. The goal originated from a corner kick, which came back to Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.) just outside the 18-yard box and she played it across to Miller, who then took a touch and shot it past the keeper on the far post.
Gustavus took a 2-0 lead in the 79th minute after winning a free kick from about 50 yards out. The kick was played high and the St. Thomas keepers got a tip on the ball, but with three Gusties crashing the net, Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) headed it in for the two-score lead and her second goal of the season. The Gusties outshot the Tommies 16-6 throughout the match.
After eight games this season, Maddison Ackiss ranks second in the league with five goals, while her 27 shots are tied for the league lead. Leininger has the fourth most assists in the MIAC with four on the season. Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) ranks fourth amoung MIAC goal keepers with a .813 save percentage. Her 1.22 goals against average is sixth best.
Saint Mary’s is coming off a 2-0 shutout over Bethel last Saturday in Winona, Minn. Maddy Wallraff and Emma Schaefer each scored goals in the first 22 minutes, igniting the Cardinals – who had been held scoreless in each of its last three games – to its first conference victory of the season.
After eight games this season, Schaefer leads the Cardinals with four of the team’s eight goals, which is tied for fourth most in the MIAC. Aubrie Cornell has played all 720 minutes between the posts with a .788 save percentage and a 1.75 goals against average.