ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University soccer team has made it a habit in recent year of starting the season with a 2- 0 record. On Saturday, the Wildcats returned home to keep the tradition alive, which they did behind another offensive surge. St. Kate's scored four goals from four different players to beat Transylvania University 4-3 in its first home game of 2016.

The Wildcats controlled the match offensively from the get go, pushing the ball deep into the Pioneers zone to create several scoring opportunities. In fact, Transylvania did not push the ball past midfield until after the fifth minute of the game. Even when the Pioneers did gain possession, St. Kate's was quick to regain control of the game and wasted no time scoring the first goal of the season. After a Transylvania foul, Kaitlin Machovec (Woodbury, Minn. / North St. Paul) scored off a thrown in from Allie Boucher (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) for the first collegiate goal of her career and the first goal of the game.

Transylvania answered with a goal of its own less than five minutes later. Forward Noel Obata beat St. Kate's goalie Shelby Fehringer (Andover, Minn. / Andover) on the right side to even the game at one.

The game remained tied at the half, and the Wildcats once again opened with strong offensive play.  St. Kate's looked to continue pressuring the Pioneers after outshooting the visitors 18-4 in the first half. That pressure paid off, as Monica Mischke (Lino Lakes, Minn. / Centennial) scored her first goal off the on the weak side off a pass from Machovec.

Fouls on defense, though, proved costly for St. Kate's in the second half. Transylvania was awarded a penalty kick after the Wildcats committed a penalty inside the box. Morgan Janes converted the free kick, skirting the ball past first year goalie Tayler Koop (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) to tie the game at two.

With the game tied at two, St. Kate's continued to create offensive opportunities while Koop and the defense kept the Pioneers from taking a lead. Then, at the 62^nd minute, Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) put a Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn. / Stillwater) pass in the back of the net, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 lead that they would never relinquish.

Gabby Scundi (Maplewood, Minn. / Hill-Murray) scored an insurance goal at 72:57 off a rebound, which turned out to be the game winning shot. The Pioneers scored their third goal of the game at the 88 minute mark but were unable to score on the Wildcats defense a second time in the final two minutes.

Koop picked up her second win of the season in the 4-3 victory while Machovec led the team in points for the first time in her career. She finished the game with one goal and one assist.

"Overall, I'm happy with our performance," head coach Chris Citowicki said after the game. "We are playing better but need to convert our chances."

St. Kate's will have a chance to further improve its offensive game tomorrow when it takes on the University of Wisconsin River Falls in River Falls Wisconsin. The game will be the team's third in four days and will start promptly at 3 p.m.