ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University soccer team has had plenty of experience this season with last second victories and clutch overtime goals. Three of the Wildcats games this season have gone into overtime and two of them have been decided in the last 20 seconds of the game. In Wednesday night's match against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) rival Macalester, St. Kate's needed 118 minutes to prove it's the king of Snelling Avenue. The Wildcats scored the game winning goal with two minutes remaining in the second overtime to beat Macalester 2-1 for just the second time in program history.
"I'm very proud of the team," head coach
Chris Citowicki said after the game. "We keep getting put in these overtime situations and we keep coming out of top. It's a relentless pursuit of the win."
That relentless pursuit started early in the game for St. Kate's. After the first five minutes, the Wildcats controlled the ball for majority of the first half, barely allowing the Scots to cross midfield. Even when Macalester did manage to cross the center line, St. Kate's defenders kept them from penetrating deep into its own territory.
The strong defensive play allowed the Wildcats all the time in the world to get things going on offense. St. Kate's set up and generated several scoring chances but found the Scots defense to be just as stingy as its own. When the Wildcats finally did break through, though, they didn't waste any time scoring. After a Macalester foul inside the box. St. Kate's had a golden opportunity to score the first goal of the game. With
Nicole Palsgrove (Maple Grove, Minn. / Wayzeta) on top, the Wildcats took advantage of their size and power, setting up
Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater) inside the box. The senior forward took Palsgrove's laser and buried it behind Macalester goalkeeper Rachel Wilson-King to give St. Kate's a 1-0 lead with under three minutes remaining in the first half.
With a 1-0 lead, the Wildcats looked poised to beat the Scots for only the second time in program history. However, Macalester proved why it's been one of the top women's soccer programs in the MIAC in recent years. The Scots Jamie Hasama dribbled the ball past St. Kate's defenders and scored from the weak side, pushing the ball past a diving
Tayler Koop (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) to even the score at 1-1.
The score stayed knotted at one for the remainder of regulation plus 18 minutes of overtime. The Wildcats struck gold, though, with two minutes remaining in the second overtime period. Okerstrom scored her second goal to capitalize on St. Kate's corner kick opportunity.
"It wasn't our best game of the season, but that's credit to how well Macalester played," Citowicki acknowledged. "They made life difficult and we had to try and find a way to answer back. I'm happy we managed to do that."
Citowicki and the Wildcats will get a few days off before they return to the pitch for yet another MIAC game. St. Kate's will play the College of Saint Benedict at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph, Minnesota on Saturday, October 1.
