After opening Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a tough loss on the road Wednesday, the St. Catherine University soccer team hoped to get back on the winning track in its conference home opener against Hamline University. Thanks to a hat trick from Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn./Stillwater), the Wildcats claimed their first MIAC win of the season with a 4-2 decision over the Pipers Saturday in St. Paul. 

"I'm happy with how we played," said Head Coach Chris Citowicki. "We spent two days working on being more efficient in the attacking third and it definitely showed today. It's always nice to be rewarded for your hard work with some goals." 

Goals were aplenty for Okerstrom who also claimed an assist for a memorable career-best performance. Her seven points are the most in a single game for a Wildcat since 2010 and are the most by a MIAC player so far this season in a single game. Okerstrom now holds the lead in the MIAC for goals (6) and moves to seventh all-time at St. Kate's for career goals (12) and points (27). 

Okerstrom didn't waste much time getting the Wildcats on the board when she tapped in a rolling pass inside the box in the 16th minute to beat Piper goalie Amy Ramras. Iryna Talkachova (Shoreview, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's) picked up her first collegiate point with the assist to Okerstrom. 

The Wildcats pushed their lead quickly when Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto) scored her third goal of the season when she took a pass from Okerstrom in the right side of the box and beat Ramras to the left in the 22nd minute. 

Okerstrom and the Wildcats were red-hot in the opening half as they built their lead to 3-0 less than four minutes later when Okerstrom blasted a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced in. Leyva picked up the assist for her second three-point game of the season.

The Pipers stopped the bleeding a bit when Aubrey Stenson received a pass, made a move around the defender and beat Wildcat keeper Danielle Mendez (Bloomington, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) to cut the Wildcat lead to 3-1 in the 33rd minute. 

The Wildcats had a slight scare in the second half when the Pipers made the score 3-2 when Arendje Louter scored on a free kick just outside the box in the 71st minute. However, Okerstrom made sure the Pipers couldn't mount a serious comeback, though, scoring her third goal of the game less than four minutes later when she blasted a shot off a rebound from an Ellen Kokes (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) past the Pipers' Anna Briscoe. 

Mendez made five saves to help keep the Wildcats in the game after being outshot 19-14 by the Pipers in the game. Okerstrom led the Wildcat attack with six shots and four on goal, while Leyva, Kokes and Hannah Brown (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) each had two shots in the game. 

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-2-1 on the season and 1-1-0 in the MIAC. They will take a week off of action and MIAC competition with their next contest scheduled for Saturday against Elmhust College. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. in Elmhurst, Illinois. 

Wildcat Soccer on Twitter
Wildcat Soccer on Facebook
Wildcats on Twitter
Wildcats on Facebook