Josie Mazzone searches for a play. (Photo courtesy of Mikeal Brickley, Gustavus Sports Information)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team was downed 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field during homecoming, snapping its three-game winning streak.
“Today was a battle,” said Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “Both teams possessed the ball well, but unfortunately we were unable to find the back of the net. We had some solid performance and learned a lot about managing the game. It was not the result we wanted, but we continued to improve and had some bright spots.”
Locked in a scoreless tie through 38 minutes of play, Brielle Bierman gave the Tommies a 1-0 lead, where the score stood heading into the halftime break.
St. Thomas out shot the Gusties by a slim margin, 4-3 in the first half, while each team tallied one corner kick.
Play was even in the second half until the Tommies were able to add another goal. Mallory DeBoom scored at the 77th minute to give St. Thomas 2-0 cushion. Gustavus was not able to bounce back despite owning a 2-1 edge in corner kicks in the second half and finishing with five shots on goal.
Goalkeeper Ashley Becker (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) made five saves in the loss. Her record dips to 5-2-1 on the season.
“We are now focused on our weekday matchup by continuing to build the layers of our game,” Burnett-Kurie commented.
The Gusties, now 5-2-1 overall and 2-1 during conference play, return to action on Wednesday afternoon at St. Olaf College.