Katie Johnson and teammates celebrate her first career goal in Black and Gold.
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team got off to an early lead in the first period and eventually prevailed by a score of 2-1 to defeat the College of Saint Benedict Tuesday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field.
With the win the Gusties get back on track after two consecutive shutout losses. Gustavus moves to 6-4-2 (3-4 MIAC), while the Blazers of Saint Benedict fall to 7-4-2 (3-3-1 MIAC).
“It was great to get back on the scoring sheet and it was nice to score early to get our confidence going,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “It’s crunch time in the second half of the conference season and you have to gut out wins, and that’s what we did today.”
Not much over ten minutes into the first period, Maddison Ackiss (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) sent a corner kick into the box to Katie Johnson (So., Duluth, Minn.), who put home her first collegiate goal.
“She (Johnson) was in the right place at the right time and it was great for her because she has been working super hard to earn minutes so it was nice to see her on the scoresheet,” Burnett-Kurie commented.
Another assist was credited to Ackiss just five minutes later as she ripped a shot that was blocked by a Blazer defender and then ended up on the foot up Emily Skogseth (So., Burnsville, Minn.), who put away her third goal of the season, tieing Ackiss for the team-lead.
In the first period the Gusties led the Blazers in shots (6-5) and corner kicks (2-0).
“A lot of our style of play is built on hard work. When it comes down to a game like this, the details make the big difference. The fact that we were focused to get the job done willed us to a victory,” Burnett-Kurie said.
Saint Benedict came out with a strong attack in the second period and eventually cut the lead to 2-1 at the 54th minute from a breakaway goal by Taylor Ledin, her team-leading 10th of the season.
Despite being outshot by a margin of 10-3 in the second half by the Blazers, the Gustie defense stood strong. Goalkeeper Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) tied a season-high with nine saves, including five in the second half to record her sixth win of the season.
“Becker came up huge. She controlled the box and came off her line well. At the end of the day, the team figured it out,” said Burnett-Kurie.
On Saturday, Gustavus heads to Arden Hills, Minn. to face Bethel University at 1 p.m.