Box Score With just over half of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams left on the St. Catherine University schedule for 2013, every game is critical – especially those against winless teams like Saint Mary's University.
In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Wildcats needed to take care of business and find a way to defeat the Cardinals on their home turf. Fortunately, the Wildcats came up with some late game heroics when
Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif.) netted an overtime goal for a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon in Winona, Minn.
"Today we came up against a very motivated Saint Mary's team," said Head Coach
Chris Citowicki. "We started the game very slow and things were not going our way. The team's response to being down 1-0 was great and we continued to carry the momentum into overtime. It was a great team comeback."
The Wildcats found themselves in an unexpected situation early in the second half when Caroline Blackwood beat
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn.) in the 53rd minute to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
It would take over 30 minutes for the Wildcats to respond – but respond they did.
Nina Bukowski (Two Harbors, Minn.) continued her dominance up front for the Wildcats when she headed in her sixth goal of the season on a serve from
Kristi Thorwick (Maplewood, Minn.) to tie the game 1-1 with just over five minutes to play.
For just the second time this season, the Wildcats found themselves in must-win overtime situation. And for the second time this season, it was Leyva who helped the Wildcats remain unbeaten in extra minutes when she recorded her third goal of the season at the 4:26 mark of overtime.
Julia Zyla (Inver Grove, Minn.) and Thorwick picked up the assists on Leyva's second game-winner of the season.
Bukowski's goal puts her second on the team with 14 points, while Leyva is third with nine. Zyla leads all first-year players for the Wildcats with five points.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 2-3 in the MIAC and 7-5 overall. Next up, the Wildcats host Gustavus Adolphus College Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
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