After setting a new program record for overall and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) wins with a huge upset of Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday, the St. Catherine University soccer team knew the pressure was on to come up with another victory to stay alive in the race for a postseason berth. Thanks to another clutch performance from Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater), the Wildcats were able to force a bit of separation in the standings after battling cold, windy and snowy conditions to take down Saint Mary's University 2-0 Wednesday evening in Winona, Minnesota. 

The Wildcats' win solidly put the team in a tie for fifth place with Concordia College who the Wildcats will host in their regular season finale Saturday. Both teams boast 18 points and are three points ahead of Carleton College and the College of Saint Benedict who both suffered losses Wednesday evening. The win helps the Wildcats improve to 6-4 in the MIAC. 

In temperatures below 30 degrees and winds over 20 miles per hour, Okerstrom continued to prove why she is one of the top players in the MIAC. Knowing what was at stake for the Wildcats, Okerstrom wasted no time getting the Wildcats on the board when she beat the Cardinals' keeper Aubrie Cornell in the sixth minute on an assist from Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto). 

The Wildcats held on to their 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first half and most of the second half. With the Cardinals mounting pressure in the second half – they out shot the Wildcats 8-7 – Okerstrom stepped up again to score an insurance goal on a set up from Anna Pedersen (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) with 9:15 remaining to seal the 2-0 victory. 

In a very offensive game for both teams, the Wildcats received a solid performance in goal from Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) who kicked out all five shots on goal for her sixth shutout of the season. Mendez is now second in the MIAC with a remarkable 0.86 goals against average. 

With both of her goals, Okerstrom extends her league-leading mark to 13 on the season – her nine goals against MIAC opponents also leads the MIAC. She is now second in the MIAC for points (28), while her 19 in MIAC games is a conference-best. Not only is she at the top of the conference, but her goal and point totals are now school records for a single season since the Wildcats joined the MIAC. 

Leyva's assist also helped the senior set a record for assists in a season (7) and she improves to 21 points on the year. Pedersen picked up her second assist on the season and is now fourth on the team in points with six. Okerstrom led the Wildcats with four shots, while Iryna Talkachova (Shoreview, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's) had three. Grace Lowry (Minneapolis, Minn./South) and Lexi Dietl (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) each had two. 

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 11-5-1 on the season and 6-4 in the MIAC. They will take on the Cobbers in a 1 p.m. match Saturday at St. Kate's. 

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