After losing two-straight conference games, the St. Catherine University soccer team needed a confidence boost before heading into the remainder of a tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Fortunately, the Wildcats got just what they needed when their offense exploded four a much-needed 4-0 non-conference win over Simpson College in front of a home crowd Wednesday afternoon.
The Wildcats had a solid day from the whole lineup with six different players recording points and two picki9ng up their first collegiate goals as Wildcats. Throughout the game, the Wildcats outplayed the Storm dominating every category with a 17-3 advantage in attempted shots and 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
It didn't take long for the Wildcats to get going as junior
Grace Lowry (Minneapolis, Minn./South) scored her long-awaited first collegiate goal when she launched a shot just outside the box to beat Storm keeper Kristin Riley. Lowry's goal lifted the Wildcats to a 1-0 at the 15:40 mark of the opening half, but that was the only scoring that occured in the first 45 minutes of action.
Finally, the Wildcats broke open the scoring in the second half when
Nina Bukowski (Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors) scored her second goal in as many games at the 49:40 mark. She tapped in pass from
Ellen Kokes (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) who handled a cross from the right side off the foot of
Julia Zyla (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Trinity School at River Ridge).
Less than seven minutes later Kokes scored her second goal of the season when she pulled in a loose, high ball on the left side of the box to increase the Wildcat lead to 3-0. Then, 10 minutes later,
Anna Pedersen (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) recorded her first goal as a Wildcat on an assist from
Alex Boucher (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) to seal the Wildcats' fourth win of the season.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) tallied her fourth win of the season in goal for the Wildcats thanks to a three-save effort.
Kokes and Bukowski led the Wildcat attack with four shots a piece. With their goals, they are both tied for second on the team in points with five. Pederson,
Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto),
Kelly Molitor (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) and
Hannah Brown (Burnsville, Minn./Lakeville South) each had two shots in the game.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-6-1 on the season. They are set to complete their three-game home stand Saturday with a MIAC matchup against Saint Mary's University at 1 p.m.
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