Box Score
After finishing 1-17 last season, the St. Catherine University soccer program has seen a drastic turnaround as the team headed into its final game of the 2012 season against Hamline University with a record of 9-7, looking to surpass the elusive 10-win mark for the first time in program history.
Unfortunately, the Pipers used a goal from Kelsey Carraciolo in the 85th to take down the Wildcats 1-0, Saturday at St. Catherine.
“Our first half was slow,” said Head Coach
Chris Citowicki. “However, our second half was absolutely brilliant. We came out flying and played our game from minute one to minute 45. Hamline managed to catch us on the break and credit to them – they scored a good goal.”
The game was a back-and-forth match up as the teams were nearly identical for most of the game. The Pipers outshot the Wildcats 16-11, but only held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks throughout the matchup.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn.) finished the day with six saves, while first-year
Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif.) led the team with four shots and one shot on goal.
With the loss, the Wildcats finish the 2012 campaign 9-8 and 4-7 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
The 2012 season marked the program's first winning season since 2008, when the Wildcats finished 9-7-2. The team's nine wins ties as the most wins in a season in program history. The four MIAC wins is also the most since that same 2008 season.
“Looking back on the season, I can't help but smile because we went from 1-17 in 2011 to 9-8 in 2012,” said Citowicki. “We played some great soccer and created a tight-knit family environment. It was a great year.”
Part of the team's successful turnaround is thanks to a senior class that helped lead the program to its first wins over Macalester College and St. Olaf College in 2009. The seniors were also an integral part of the team's first win over Carleton College in program history that came in the Wildcats' first MIAC game of this season on a rainy day in Northfield, Minn.
The standout group of four seniors includes defender
Liesl Wolf (Minnetonka, Minn.), who finishes her career having played 69 games in a Wildcat uniform. Wolf ended her breakout senior year fourth on the team in points (8) and tied for seventh in the MIAC in assists (6). In her four seasons at St. Catherine, Wolf recorded three goals, seven assists and 13 total points.
Christina Paik (Beaverton, Ore.) had an outstanding senior year as she led the Wildcats in points (14), which puts her 11th overall in the MIAC in 2012. Her team-leading six goals is the 10th most in the conference and doubles her goal total from her first three seasons as a Wildcat. Paik ends her collegiate career having played 71 games and recorded 12 goals, two assists and 26 points.
Abby McGurran-Hanson (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished her career in at St. Catherine with 42 games played. In her time with the Wildcats, McGurran-Hanson tallied one goal, one assist and three points.
Brianna Coulter (Burnsville, Minn.), who had her senior season cut short due to an injury, managed to tally five goals, one assist and 11 points in just 17 games played after transferring into the program in 2011.
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