ST. PAUL, MINN. – It is an unfortunate rule of life: all good things must come for an end. For the St. Catherine University soccer team, the end came on Wednesday.
After a historic shootout win over Gustavus Adolphus College in the first round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Postseason tournament, the Wildcats faced top-seeded St. Thomas in the second round. Despite several offensive opportunities and stellar defensive play, St. Kate's fell to the Tommies 2-0 in regulation time.
The Wildcats game plan was to attack Tarynn Theilig and the St. Thomas defense early and often. Unfortunately, it was the Tommies who were attacking St. Kate's. Though goalkeeper
Jessica Perez-Adame (San Jacinto, Calif. / San Jacinto) and the Wildcat defense was able to stop St. Thomas' attack, the Tommies eventually broke through. Elizabeth Luotto scored the first goal of the game, a header off a corner kick, to put St. Thomas up 1-0 less than five minutes into the game.
Down early, St. Kate's tried to claw its way back and generated several scoring opportunities in the first half.
Marissa Janssen (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) had a chance to even the score at 14:56. The first year midfielder hit a shot from the top of the box, but Theilig was there to make her first save of the game.
Neither team was able to get a shot on goal for the rest of the half, thanks to stellar defensive play by both the Wildcats and Tommies. However, with under two minutes to play in the half, St. Kate's had another chance to even the score when
Iryna Talkachova (Shoreview, Minn. / Shattuck-St. Mary's) tried to hit an equalizer from the right side of the field. Her shot sailed wide, but on the next offensive possession,
Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) found herself with a chance to tie the game, but again Theilig was there.
Both St. Thomas and St. Kate's continued to play well defensively to start the second half. Perez-Adame made two quick saves less than three minutes into the second half, keeping the Wildcats within striking distance of the Tommies lead.
While Perez-Adame continued to be strong in net for St. Kate's, the Wildcat offense continued to try and generate opportunities for their top scorers.
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater) had a shot blocked at 58:29, but St. Kate's best scoring opportunity came in the 79
th minute. Bird broke away from her defender and had a one-on-one with Theilig in front of the net. Bird shot left, and Theilig made a diving save but left the rebound out in the open for Bird to scoop up. Unfortunately, the first year forward missed the shot, allowed St. Thomas to kick the ball away.
Two minutes later, the Tommies extended their lead with a goal from the left side, and the Wildcats were never able to recover, eventually falling 2-0 in regulation time.
St. Kate's ends its season with an 11-6-2 overall record and a 6-5-2 mark in MIAC play. However, there is even more for the Wildcats and their six seniors to be proud of. Season highlights include the team hosting a first round playoff game and made it to the semifinal round of the MIAC postseason tournament for the first time in program history.