After a tough start to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season, the St. Catherine University soccer team appeared to have found its stride just past the midway mark as it had won two conference matches in a row and three-straight games overall. The Wildcats also hadn't surrendered a goal to an opponent in those three games and hoped to keep that streak going against a Bethel University squad that was hungry for its first MIAC win of the season.
The Royals came hungry for victory and held the Wildcats off for a good majority of the game, but the Wildcats finally found their scoring touch in the 75th minute to seal their fourth-straight shut out and third MIAC victory in a row with a 1-0 decision Tuesday afternoon in front of a home crowd in St. Paul.
The game opened up in favor of the Royals with a majority of play in the Wildcats defensive end. Late in the half, though, the Wildcats turned up their offense and managed to out-shoot the Royals 7-5 to carry over momentum in the second half.
The Wildcats controlled play to start the second 45 minutes of regulation and began to pressure the Royals with several opportunities to score. However, Jess Gapinski made three key saves for the Royals to keep the game scoreless and put the Wildcats under pressure to keep their streak alive.
Finally, after several opportunities, the Wildcats capitalized when
Gabby Scundi (Maplewood, Minn./Hill-Murray) snuck inside the box and scored her first collegiate goal on a pass from reigning MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week
Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto) to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead they never surrendered en route to victory.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) made three crucial saves for the Wildcats to earn her third-consecutive shutout in goal for the Wildcats.
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater) led the Wildcats' offensively with five shots and two on goal, while Leyva,
Hannah Brown (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) and
Shannon Hickey (Eden Prairie, Minn./Visitation) each had two shots. With the assist on Scundi's goal, Leyva is now tied for the team lead in points with 18.
The Wildcats outshot the Royals 14-7 thanks to a a dominant second half that saw the Wildcats take seven shots as opposed to just two for the Royals. They also held a 9-3 advantage over the Royals in corner kicks.
The victory was the first for the Wildcats over Bethel since 2008 and helps the team match a program-best four conference wins in a single season. With with win, the Wildcats improve to 8-4-1 on the season and 4-3-0 in MIAC play. They return to action at home Saturday against league-leading University of St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. matchup.
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