ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's already been a pretty exciting week for the St. Catherine University soccer team. The Wildcats upset regionally ranked Bethel University 2-1 on Tuesday, handing the Royals their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the 2016 season. However, St. Kate's biggest test is yet to come. The Wildcats will face the University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon at St. Thomas in the hopes that history repeats itself.
Like Bethel, St. Thomas is currently undefeated in MIAC play and is both nationally and regionally ranked. In the most recent polls, the Tommies were the No. 13 ranked team in the country and No. 2 in the central region. However, St. Thomas suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday even, when it lost to UW-Stout 1-0 in nonconference play.
Video and
live stats will be available for the game, which will start at 1 p.m. at St. Thomas. Score updates will also be made on St. Kate's Twitter account (@stkateswildcats).
Here are the five facts to know before the big game:
10 – The Wildcats snapped the Royals 10 game win streak on Tuesday, thanks to big time goals from
Anna Pedersen (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) and
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater). It looked like Bethel was on pace to win its 11 straight game after Mikala Smith scored in the first half of the game. However, Pedersen scored the equalizer at 67:45 in the second half to send the game into overtime and Okerstrom scored the game winner off a floating cross from
Julia Zyla (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Trinity).
11 – Okerstrom's game winning goal in the 98
th minute of the game against Bethel was the senior's eleventh goal of the season. She is tied for first in the MIAC in both goals and points (26) and leads the team in both categories.
.947 – St. Thomas goalkeeper Tarynn Theilig has been one of the top keepers in the MIAC all season, having only allowed three goals in 12 games this season. Theilig's .947 save percentage is the best in the conference and she's only allowed two goals against MIAC opponents.
5 – St. Kate's has played five overtime games this season, and three of those have gone into double overtime. However, the Wildcats have yet to lose in overtime this season and have a 4-0-1 record in games that go beyond 90 minutes.
32 – St. Kate's has been one of the strongest offensive teams in the MIAC all season. The Wildcats rank in the top five in multiple statistical categories, including goals (32) and assists (33).