Sophie Leininger moves the ball around a St. Kate’s defender.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite a spectacular goalkeeping performance by Ashley Becker (Jr., Farmington, Minn.), the Gustavus women’s soccer team could not complete one final upset in its quest for the MIAC playoff championship as St. Catherine outlasted the Gusties 1-0 in double overtime. In an improbable conference title matchup between the No. 6 seed Gusties and No. 5 seed Wildcats, it was the home team that secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, as the Gusties finished their season 10-6-4 overall.
“We knew there was something special about this team from the first scrimmage during preseason,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “We rode the highs and lows of the season and made a huge push at the end of the year. While today’s result didn’t go in our favor, it doesn’t take away from the heart and fight we played with.”
St. Kate’s outshot the Gusties in every frame for a 30-19 advantage, but it wasn’t until the 102nd minute that it finally got one past Becker after one-time shot on a pass inside the box for the game-winner. Becker finished the game with nine saves, many of which were of the diving and leaping variety that had spectators in awe. The junior keeper finishes the season with 98 saves and a 0.66 goals against average after nearly 2,000 minutes in goal.
“Ashley Becker is one of the top goalkeepers in the country, and her performance today showed that,” Burnett-Kurie said. “This playoff run was a huge tribute to our seniors, who have helped turn this program into one of the top teams in the conference. To make it to the conference championship two out of the last three years after winning one conference game their first year speaks to the character, leadership, drive, and belief this senior class had.
“St. Kate’s fought hard and Coach Campos deserves a lot of credit for what he has done in his first year with the program. We wish them luck in the NCAA tournament.”