Coming off a tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss, the St. Catherine University soccer team faced another tough challenge in taking on nationally-ranked No. 24 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Wednesday. Fortunately for the Wildcats, they were able to take advantage of several key opportunities to take down the Eagles 2-0 Wednesday afternoon in St. Paul.
The win helped the Wildcats improve to 9-5-1 on the season to match a program record for wins in a season set msot recently in 2012. This is also the Wildcats' second win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season and their seventh shutout of the season. With the win, the Wildcats have now won five of their last six outings.
Though the game was closely contested – each team finished with six shots on goal and the Wildcats held just a 14-13 advantage in overall shots – the Wildcats applied more offensive pressure early and were rewarded late in the first half. In the 39th minute, first-year
Molly Hayes (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) scored her first collegiate goal when she scrambled to the front of the net to bury a rebound off her own initial shot giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats held on to that lead throughout the second half and scored an insurace goal with exactly one minute remaining when
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater) beat the Eagle keeper Kennedy Brault on an assist from
Kelly Molitor (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) to seal the win.
Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) earned her fifth shutout of the season with an impressive six-save performance in goal. Okerstrom ended her five-game scoreless streak to move into a tie for first on the team for points (20). She also led the Wildcat attack with four shots and two on goal, while Hayes and Anna Pederson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) each had two shots on goal.
The Wildcats hit the road and return to MIAC action Saturday as they take on league-leading Gustavus Adolphus College for a 1 p.m. game in St. Peter, Minnesota.
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