In her four years as a member of the St. Catherine University soccer team, Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto) has been one of the most "clutch" players in the lineup. For the fourth time in her career, Leyva fulfilled her "clutch" role as she netted an overtime game-winner Saturday to lift the Wildcats to a 1-0 win over St. Olaf College to close out a 3-0 week for the team. For her efforts, Leyva has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week.Â
For nearly 99 minutes Saturday, the Wildcats controlled play on the raod against the Oles, but couldn't find a way to beat the Ole keeper. That was until Leyva turned on her overtime magic when she received a pass after a run down the line and cruised past two defendesr en route to the net before tapping the ball in for the Wildcat winner. The win helped the Wildcats complete a perfect week and improve to 3-3 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this year.Â
Earlier in the week, Leyva earned four points in a 4-0 shutout of Bethany Lutheran College Monday when she scored back-to-back goals including the game-winner. Then, the senior forward helped the Wildcats defeat No. 25-ranked Augsburg College for the first time since 2004 when she assisted the second goal of the game off a corner kick opportunity.Â
This season, Leyva is second on the team for goals (6) and points (17) which both rank in the top five in the MIAC. Her three game winners are also tied for the most in the conference. Leyva now boasts eight career game winning goals and 40 points which rank sixth all-time at St. Kate's.Â
Leyva and the Wildcats return to MIAC action Tuesday as they host Bethel University in a 4 p.m. game at St. Kate's.Â
