ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team is set to play its final non-conference match of the season at 4 p.m. Wednesday as it hosts the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The Gusties enter with a 9-4-1 overall record, while the Blue Devils are 6-5-3 overall.
Live online coverage of tomorrow’s match begins at 4 p.m.
GUSTAVUS LINKS: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
UW-STOUT LINKS: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
The Gusties are coming off a 3-0 shutout victory over Bethel University last Saturday in St. Peter. Gustavus was able to get on the scoreboard early against Bethel when junior midfielder Coursey Edwards (Eden Prarie, Minn.) put one home just 3:12 into the first half to score her second goal of the season and first in MIAC play on an assist from Sophie Leininger (So., Plymouth, Minn.).
The rest of the first half remained scoreless, but the Gusties doubled their lead at the 57:05 mark in the second when senior Brittany Chase (Victoria, Minn.) found sophomore Molly Johnston (Mendota Heights, Minn.), who scored her first goal of the season, to give Gustavus a 2-0 lead. Hannah Sturtz (So., Plymouth, Minn.) put the icing on the cake when she booted an unassisted goal with 13:07 remaining in the match.
Gustavus nearly quadrupled Bethel’s shot count, as it had 23 shots compared to the Royals’ six. Ashley Becker (Fy., Farmington, Minn.) had four saves for the Gusties to move her season record to 9-4-1 after playing the entire 90 minutes between the posts. Becker leads the MIAC with a .821 save percentage.
After 14 matches this season, Maddison Ackiss (Jr., Fairbanks, Alaska) leads the MIAC with eight goals. Leininger is tied for the league lead with nine assists and she is also one assist shy of tying the Gustavus season assist record of 10, set by Paige Tierney in 1994.
UW-Stout is coming off a 1-1 tie with UW-River Falls last Wednesday in River Falls, Wis. It looked like UW-Stout might be heading for a fifth consecutive loss until Sydney Kasper (Fy., Owatonna, Minn) picked up Addy Maher’s (Sr., Racine, Wis.) rebounded shot and scored with 44 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game.
Stout’s offense had been kept out of the net the last four games, and the Falcons held a commanding lead in shots throughout the game, holding a 22-10 advantage.
Both teams picked up their game in the second half as each team put four shots on frame after the break. The Blue Devils tied the game when Maher put a shot on that was blocked, but the rebound went to Kasper who put the ball home, picking up her fourth goal of the season.
The Falcons put one shot on net near the end of the first overtime period, and Stout’s Paige Meyer (Sr., Beldenville, Wis.) picked up her seventh save of the night. Neither put a shot on net the rest of the way.
After 14 matches this season, Kasper leads the Blue Devils with four goals. Maher leads the team in points with 10 on three goals and a team-high four assists. Between the posts, Meyer has played every minute this season with a 0.87 goals against average and a .814 save percentage.
Another “W” would be oh so sweet!!! Go Gusties!!!