After suffering a tough 4-0 loss Friday afternoon to Central College in its opening game of the 2013 season, the St. Catherine University soccer team rebounded in a huge way with a thrilling 4-2 victory over UW-River Falls Saturday afternoon to conclude the Wildcat Invitational in St. Paul. 

Head Coach Chris Citowicki was pleased with the performance from his young Wildcat squad and the way it responded after a tough loss Friday. "Overall, I'm happy with how we played in both games over the past two days," said Citowicki. "It's going to take us a few more practices to get everything in place, but we're moving in the right direction." 

But it took the Wildcats awhile to get headed in the right direction as Saturday's game started the way Friday's did as the Falcons scored in the 11th minute to take an early 1-0 lead. 

However, senior Lensa Gurmessa (Minneapolis, Minn.) proved she could lead a young Wildcat squad as she scored her first of two goals to get the Wildcats on the board in the 34th minute on a pass from Nina Bukowski (Two Harbors, Minn.). Gurmessa scored her second goal of the day in the opening minute of the second half to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. 

The Wildcats also got on the board when first-year Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal with just two minutes to play in the game. Sarah Anderson (Marshalltown, Iowa) then netted her first goal of the season on a pass from Gurmessa to seal the Wildcats first win of the season. 

Gurmessa finished the day with five points for a career-best performance. Sophomore Carly Novak (St. Cloud, Minn.) recorded her first career point as she had an assist on Gurmessa's second goal of the game. 

The Wildcats improve to 1-1 on the season and face a tough UW-Whitewater squad on the road next Sunday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. in Whitewater, Wis. 

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