ST. JOSEPH, MINN. – The St. Catherine University soccer team traveled to St. Joseph, Minnesota in the hopes of winning its third consecutive game against the College of Saint Benedict. The Wildcats were also looking for their second consecutive win against a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent. Sadly, St. Kate's was unable to leave St. Joseph with a win, suffering its first MIAC loss of the season 3-1 at the hands of Saint Ben's.

"We were our own worst enemy," soccer head coach Chris Citowicki commented after the game. "We didn't put away numerous great chances in the first half and we made some big mistakes in the second."

St. Kate's had multiple opportunities to take the lead in the first half, as the team outshot the Blazers 8-6 in the opening 45 minutes. Allie Boucher (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) had a chance to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the game, but Heather Kaluzniak made a key save to preserve the 0-0 tie.

While St. Kate's struggled to break through Saint Ben's goalkeeper, Shelby Fehringer (Anoka, Minn. / Anoka) and the Wildcat defense held fast on their end of the field. Fehringer faced four shots on goal in the opening half and saved each and every one of them, giving her offense the chance to score first. As the minutes ticked away, St. Kate's continued to create offensive opportunities, barely missing the goal each time.   

With the first half knotted in a 0-0 draw, the Wildcats made a switch in goal, replacing Fehringer with first year goalkeeper Tayler Koop (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) at the start of the second half. For the first 25 minutes, neither team was able to put the ball past the respective goalkeepers. However, Saint Ben's managed to score at 68:55 as Taylor Hedin booted the ball past a diving Koop for her first goal of the game.

Hedin went on to score two more unanswered goals, giving the Blazers a 3-0 lead over St. Kate's with under 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Despite the deficit, the Wildcats continued to create offensive opportunities, finally scoring their first goal of the game at 82:22. Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater) scored her third goal the week and seventh of the season to pull St. Kate's within two, but it wasn't enough, as the Wildcats fell 3-1.

"That's the way the game is," Citwoicki acknowledged. "We need to score and defend well to get results, and I can't wait to play Tuesday."

Saturday's loss is St. Kate's first MIAC loss of the season and drops its conference record to 2-1-1 and its overall record to 6-2-1. On the plus side, the Wildcats don't have to wait to get back on the field, as they have two key matches in the upcoming week. St. Kate's looks to rebound with a win over UW-Superior on Tuesday, October 4 before returning to MIAC play against St. Olaf next Saturday, October 8. Both games will be at home at St. Kate's field, with Tuesday's game starting promptly at 4 p.m.