ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team fell by a score of 3-0 in a non-conference matchup against Wartburg College Sunday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field.
The loss moves the Gusties to 7-5-2 overall while the Knights improve to 8-3-2 overall after their third consecutive shutout.
Alyssa Drewelow scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season at the 25th minute mark of the first period to put Wartburg on the board. Morgan Neuendorf sent a cross that Drewelow buried from the left side to seal which stood as the game-winning goal.
Neuendorf found her way on the scoresheet again for the Knights as she streaked down field and took a pass from Alyssa Hewitt to push the lead to 2-0. Just three minutes later, Wartburg increased its lead to 3-0 with a goal from Nicole Adair.
“Credit them for scoring three, but they were fixable mistakes for us,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “They were breakdowns defensvily that are easily fixable and the big thing is to take what we did well walk away with some confidence.”
Goalkeeper Ashley Becker (So., Farmington, Minn.) was handed her fifth loss of the season despite making some big saves for the Gusties. Just before the Knight’s first goal, Becker sprawled out towards the top-right corner of the goal to deny a great shot from Adair. “Definitely the save of the year, it was unbelievable,” commented Burnett-Kurie.
Gustavus was outshot by Wartburg 16-11. The Knights also led in corner kicks, 6-2. Emily Skogseth (So., Burnsville, Minn.) led the Gusties with two shots on goal.
“We had moments when we moved the ball around and were in dangerous on the field, but we either didn’t get the shot off or we weren’t quite able to finish,” Burnett-Kurie said. “This isn’t necessarily a setback because we played well. We got every healthy field player in today, which was nice to see. Having that urgency and finishing opportunities is big, that’s what we learned today. We have to fight to the end in this conference, so hopefully Wednesday we can build some confidence.”
The Black and Gold next head to Menomonie, Wis. on Wednesday for another non-conference matchup, taking on the Universtity of Wisconsin-Stout.