The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team fell to St. Olaf 5-2 on the Gustie Soccer Field Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. St. Olaf hit the net early and often, scoring in the first minute and not looking back. St. Olaf’s Catie Christoffel led with a game-high two goals. Scoring for the Gusties was Nicole Kwapick and Meghan Faricy.
The Oles were on the board just :27 seconds into the match when K.C. Beed found a bouncing ball at her feet and struck hitting the back of the net (1-0). Catie Christoffel scored at the 11:00 mark on an assist from Lindsay Howard to give St. Olaf a 2-0 lead. The first half scoring ended as Susie Jelinek cracked home a direct kick from 35-yards out at the 18:47 mark. St. Olaf out-shot the Gusties 9-to-2 in the first half and held the corner kick advantage 5-to-0.
Eleven minutes into the second half Nicole Kwapick got the Gusties on the board with her first goal of the season heading home a Leah Brossoit corner. After spirited and open play, St. Olaf’s Ellie Steiner scored a slicing header from a corner kick to extend the lead to 4-1 at the 65-minute mark. Christoffel scored her second goal of the afternoon in the 75th minute off a Deanne Schmidt pass to put the Oles up 5-1. Meghan Faricy capped the game with her second goal of the season, netting the ball off an assist from Nicole Kwapick.
The Oles dominated in time of possession for the majority of the match, yet Gustavus played a much-improved second half, registering four shots to St. Olaf’s four. The Oles held the advantage in both shots (14-6) and corner kicks (9-2) in the match.
Chelsea Bayer was credited with the loss in nets for Gustavus, allowing five goals and making five saves. St. Olaf goalkeeper Nora Forbes got the win, giving up two goals and making two saves.
With the loss, Gustavus falls to 4-6 overall and 0-5 in the MIAC, while St. Olaf improves to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the MIAC.
The Gustavus women’s soccer team will be back on the pitch tomorrow afternoon when it takes on Simpson College in a non-conference duel at 2:00pm in St. Peter, Minn.