Jana Elliott moves the ball up the field. (photo courtesy of Gunnar Ledin '20)
ST. PETER, Minn. – Gustavus women’s soccer opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Play with a victory over Macalester College Tuesday. The Gusties shutout the Scots by a final score of 2-0 to record their fifth shutout on the season.
Gustavus moves to 4-0-1 (1-0 MIAC) on the season while Macalester falls to 3-1-1 (0-1 MIAC).
Goalkeeper Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves to keep the shutout theme rolling. Becker and the Gusties have yet to allow a goal through five games.
“We battled hard,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “There were a lot of momentum shifts in the game. For a period of time I thought we controlled the tempo, and then Macalester would control it. In the second half, we were smart and we finished strong.”
Gustavus got on the board at the 34th minute of the first period. Jana Elliott (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) squeezed the ball through the Macalester defenders, giving Paula Miller (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.) a partial breakaway as she put home her second goal of the season.
The Gusties and Macalester traded chances throughout the game but the Gusties smart and consistent defensive play shutdown the Scots. Gustavus led Macalester in shots (11-10) and shots on goal (6-5).
Grace Brustad and teammates celebrate her first career goal in Black and Gold. (Gunnar Ledin ’20)
Late in the second period, Emily Skogseth (So., Burnsville, Minn.) made some nice moves to get past Macalester defenders and centered the ball to Grace Brustad (So., Edina, Minn.), who put in her first collegiate goal.
“We talk a lot about building our soccer IQ and our all-around play so when we’re in games like today, they understand what to do,” Burnett-Kurie said. “It was awesome to get a goal in the last minute or so to kind of seal it.”
The Gusties now have 14 different players to have found their names in the season scoring column, using their team depth to their advantage.
“Being able to have a lot of players put the ball in the back of the net and knowing that we don’t need to rely on one or two individuals is great for us. Having so much depth on our bench allows to play a lot of players and keep our legs fresh,” said Burnett-Kurie.
Next the Gusties continue conference play as they head to Northfield, Minn. Saturday at 1 p.m. to take on rival St. Olaf College.
“We know that Macalester is a top contender in the MIAC so it was a good test for us in our first conference game,” Burnett-Kurie commented. “We just have to take it one game at a time because everyone in the MIAC knows that it’s super competitive from top to bottom. It was great to be able to battle at that level and now we’re setting the tempo for St. Olaf on Saturday.