St. Joseph, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team picked up its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win on Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 triumph over Saint Benedict. Maggie Lane (Sr., Saginaw, Minn.) scored two first-half goals to lead the Gusties in the victory. With the win, Gustavus improves to 3-4-0 (1-2-0 MIAC), while Saint Benedict falls to 3-2-2 (2-1-0 MIAC).
“Our girls started playing from the first whistle and it showed,” remarked head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “We took advantage of some of our opportunities, took some chances, and we played fantastic defense the whole game. Our back line and Jess in goal did a great job of shutting them down.”
Senior captain Maggie Lane scored her first goal of the season at the 10:44 mark to jump-start the Gustie offense. Lane launched a strike from deep range that sailed up-and-over Blazer goalkeeper Claire O’Brien to give Gustavus the early 1-0 lead. It was Lane scoring again in the 27th minute with a header off of a corner from Leah Brossoit (Jr., Rochester, Minn.). Lane’s two goals marked her first and second of the season, and her second and third career goals. It is the third time a Gustie has scored two goals in a contest this season.
“Maggie stepped up for us today,” remarked Burnett-Kurie on Lane’s performance. “She had the confidence to take a shot from 30 yards out and it paid off for her first goal. On the second one, Leah played a fantastic ball in off of a corner and Maggie found the end of it to put it in the back of the net.”
Brossoit was the only other Gustie to get on the scorecard, amounting one assist. Jessica Richert (Sr., Freeburg, Ill.) notched 13 saves on the afternoon, the second time the senior goalie has recorded double-digit saves in a match this season.
The Gusties will travel to Winona, Minn. on Wednesday, Sept. 26th to take on Saint Mary’s University under the cover of darkness. Wednesday night’s game will be played under the lights at 7:00 p.m.
“The true test for us is to continue to play at the level we did today,” surmised coach Burnett-Kurie. “Playing under the lights is a different atmosphere – a fantastic atmosphere. It will be a great environment to play in.”