Coming off a dominant 4-0 win over Simpson College in non-conference competition Wednesday, the St. Catherine University soccer team needed to find a way to keep its momentum going with just over half of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season remaining. Thanks to that momentum, the Wildcats used a fast start – scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes – to quiet Saint Mary's University and capture their second MIAC win of the season with a 2-0 victory Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.
Heading into the contest, the Wildcats had lost just once in program history to the Cardinals at home and they were determined to keep it that way. In the opening minute of the game, the Wildcats showed they were serious about coming out with a win as
Emily Hutchins-Peterson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) tested Cardinal keeper Victoria Perez with a solid shot on goal. Less than a minute later, senior Nina Bukoski (Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors) fired a shot that Perez narrowly grabbed.
The Wildcats continued to build pressure as they had tallied five shots on goal within the first five minutes of the game when
Ellen Kokes (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) tallied one.
Gabby Scundi (Maplewood, Minn./Hill Murray) had the two best chances early when Perez made a shaky first save before Scundi fired again and narrowly missed giving the Wildcats a lead.
Finally, at the 9:55 mark, the Wildcats' hard work paid off when
Hannah Brown (Burnsville, Minn./Lakeville South) scored her second goal of the season when she beat Perez off a pass from
Julia Zyla (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Trinity School at River Ridge) on the right side to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats continued to pour on the pressure until Kokes gave her squad a sense of security with her third goal of the season – and second in as many games – at the 19:11 mark. Again, Zyla did the hard work outside to set Kokes up giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead they would carry until the end of the game.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) recorded three saves for her third shutout of the season and 10th of her career. The Wildcats outshot the Cardinals 18-7 thanks to four shots from Bukowski and three a piece from Brown and Kokes. They also had an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 5-6-1 on the season and 2-4 in the MIAC to jump to seventh in the standings. They return to conference action Tuesday as they hit the road for a 4 p.m. contest against Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.
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