The Gustavus women’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 double overtime loss to Simpson College on Saturday afternoon in a sunny St. Peter, Minn. Simpson’s Corie Peterson lobbed a ball towards the net from in front of her own bench, finding Ashlee Krider among traffic in the goal box. Krider headed the ball home for the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute of the match. Ashley Anderson led Gustavus, scoring both goals in the match.
The Gusties looked crisp in the opening minutes of the match, registering three shots within the first ten minutes of play. Anderson put Gustavus up 1-0 with an unassisted goal in the 12th minute. She beat goalkeeper Jessica Toyne with a rolling shot that found the net in the bottom left corner of the goal. Simpson answered less than a minute later when Nicole Dillenburg found the ball on her feet off a corner kick, knocking it in for the game-tying goal (1-1). The match was evenly played in the opening half, as both squads registered eight shots on net within the frame.
Anderson put the Gusties up 2-1 with a rebound goal, her second of the afternoon, at the 52:23 mark of the match. The two teams would then play over 37 minutes of scoreless soccer. In that time-frame, Simpson registered five shots while Gustavus tallied two. It looked as if victory was immanent for Gustavus in the final minutes, yet Simpson’s leading scorer Katherine Bird would not be denied. Bird happened upon a ball inside the box, struck a rolling shot across the keeper’s line of sight that found the bottom right corner of the net with just :33 seconds left in the match. Simpson finished regulation with the advantage in both shots (14-11) and corner kicks (8-5).
The Gusties put the pressure on to start overtime, gaining the momentum back. Ashley Anderson had a golden opportunity to end the match with a penalty kick try in the 91st minute, yet Jessica Toyne came up with a big save to keep the Storm alive. The Gusties out-shot the Storm 6-to-1 in the overtime periods before Krider buried the game-winner.
Chelsea Bayer suffered the loss in nets, making a total of seven saves. Jessica Toyne was the winning keeper with six saves. The Gusties fall to 4-6 overall, while Simpson improves to 4-6-1 overall.
The Gustavus women’s soccer team will be in action next weekend, Saturday Oct. 9, with an MIAC match against Saint Catherine’s on the Gustie Soccer Field in St. Peter, Minn. at 11:00 a.m.