NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team started Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play today with a 2-0 victory at Carleton. The Gusties scored both their goals in the second half while the defense recorded its fourth-straight shutout. Gustavus improves to 3-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the MIAC, while the Knights drop their first game of the season, falling to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.
“The first half we struggled a bit as Carleton came out more physical and ready to go,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said, who led the Gusties to a win over Carleton for the first time in her six seasons at the helm (first win over Carleton since 2009). “We made a few adjustments at half, settled down and got our legs under us. We controlled the tempo for much of the second half, moved the ball well, and created dangerous opportunities in the final third. It was fun to watch us move the ball – lots of creativity.”
After a scoreless first half that saw Carleton outshoot the Gusties 7-5, Hannah Sturtz (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 60:45 mark, finding the lower left corner of the net on an assist from Chase Miller (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.). Nearly seven minutes later, Miller curled a left-footed shot off the crossbar and in for the insurance goal.
Carleton ended the game with an 11-10 advantage in shots, but could not get one past keeper Ashley Becker (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) as she tallied seven saves.
“With Carleton, you have to fight all the way down to the end and we made sure we put together a solid 90 minutes,” Burnett-Kurie said. “It’s fun to watch this team play and fight.”
Gustavus hosts its home opener at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Concordia. The match is designated as a charity game for would-be junior midfielder Trina Rinke, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer this summer. More information on the charity game can be found here.