Box Score After being shut out from scoring in its first two games of the 2014 season, the St. Catherine University soccer team was hungry to get on the board and pick up a victory. Fortunately, the Wildcat offense came to life on an unusually cold September afternoon at home for a dominating 6-0 win over Crown College Wednesday in St. Paul.
The Wildcat offense got just what it needed as six different players tallied goals – four of which were career-firsts – and eight names found their way into the offensive stat line. Not only did the offense finally get going in favor of the Wildcats, but the dynamic defense managed to hold Crown from taking a single shot throughout the contest.
Though the Wildcats showed dominance in the first half with 16 shots, it took 32 minutes before
Taylor Greathouse (Blaine, Minn./Blaine) finally broke the team's scoring draught when she touched in her first collegiate goal off a corner kick from
Kelly Molitor (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South).
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but needed to get the offense going again in order to secure the first win of the year. Finally, after 14 minutes of play in the second half, Molitor scored her first of the season to add to her previous assist and give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. The sophomore took a close pass from junior
Hannah Brown (Burnsville, Minn./Lakeville South) and beat Crown goalie Hilary Brondsema to the left side.
Less than 10 minutes later, Brown recorded her long-awaited first collegiate goal after she buried a second-chance shot to lift the Wildcat lead to 3-0.
Ali Baumgartner (Shoreview, Minn./Roseville) picked up her first point in a Wildcat jersey with an assist on Brown's tally.
Once Brown got on the board, the Wildcats continued to pour on the pressure on Brondsema. Just over a minute later, junior defender
Ellen Kokes (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) picked up her first collegiate goal when she took a pass from Molitor and came in all alone on the right side to beat Brondsema.
In the 76th minute,
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater) scored her first goal of the season on a pass from first-year
Katie Yeager (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata). Okerstrom then set up first-year
Shannon Hickey (Eden Prairie, Minn./Visitation) less than five minutes later to give the Wildcats their sixth and final goal of the contest.
The Wildcats totaled 35 shots with Brondsema picking up 11 saves on the day.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) recorded her first win and second shutout of the season with first-year
Shelby Fehringer (Andover, Minn./Andover) seeing her first collegiate minutes for the Wildcats. Molitor ended the game with a goal and two assists for four points, while Okerstrom and Brown had one of each for three points a piece.
The Wildcats return to non-conference action at home Saturday against UW-Whitewater for a 1 p.m. contest.
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