St. Kate's hosted conference opponent Augsburg on Saturday afternoon, dropping a close match 2-1, despite striking first with a goal by Kelsey Moll.  The Wildcats fall to 2-2 in conference play, 6-3-1 overall.  Augsburg improved to 2-3 in the MIAC and 3-5-2 overall. 

The Wildcats hit the ground running, taking control of play in the first half.  After being awarded a corner kick, the Wildcats executed a quick give-and-go between Kelsey Nistler and Kristi Thorwick.  Thorwick then crossed the ball and Moll knocked it in, giving the Wildcats an early 1-0 advantage.  Keeping up the pressure, the Wildcats kept firing off shots in the first half, holding a 10-2 edge in shots in the period.  Augsburg's defense turned away all of the Wildcat's chances, and Augsburg tied the game off a free kick that Courtney Gamrath placed just out of the reach of Chelsea Jones-Thomas. 

In the second period, the Auggies pulled ahead on a goal by Carly Reimer, and that would turn out to be enough for the win.  The Wildcats had their chances, getting off 10 shots in the second half for an overall advantage of 20 shots to the Auggies' 7 shots.  Despite several shots coming oh-so-close, the Wildcats could not tie the game, and lost to the perennially strong Augsburg squad. 

Head coach Steve Bellis felt the team played well despite the loss: "We put together some good sequences against a well-organized Augsburg team.  We did the right things to give ourselves opportunities to score, and just didn't convert on those chances.  Both teams played some great soccer today."  

With two conference contests coming up in the next week, the Wildcats look to get back in the mix of MIAC teams with a win against Macalester or Gustavus. 

Box Score