DULUTH, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s soccer team dropped its season opener Friday to the No. 10-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater by a 2-0 decision. The match is the first of two for the Gusties at the Advantage Emblem Cup Tournament, hosted by the College of St. Scholastica.
“First game was a great performance,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “We played a strong Whitewater team and proved we could play with them. We generated quite a few dangerous opportunities, forcing their goalkeeper to come up with a couple clutch saves and a couple shots sailed inches wide of the post.”
UW-Whitewater scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 27:14 mark in the first half on a pass across the box that found the bottom corner of the net. The Warhawks added an insurance goal with 6:08 remaining in the match on a one-on-one against Gustie keeper Ashley Becker (Jr., Farmington, Minn.).
Becker made six saves after a complete 90 minutes in net. Her counterpart, Sara Klimisch, stopped all five shots she faced. Abby Mullenbach (So., Lakeville, Minn.) led the offensive pressure for the Gusties with three shots and two on goal.
“Defensively we were strong, limiting their offensive opportunities,” Burnett-Kurie said. “At times we moved the ball extremely well, pinging the ball up the field with a lot of creative movement. It was an extremely competitive game that gave us confidence moving forward.”
Gustavus had four corner kicks but was unable to capitalize. The Warhawks edged the Gusties 6-5 in shots after the first 45 minutes, while shots were even at three apiece it the second half.
The Gusties finish play at the Advantage Emblem Cup Tournament at 5 p.m. Sunday against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.