THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF – The St. Catherine University soccer team opened 2017 ready to prove its place in the regional and conference rankings. The Wildcats also hoped to get 2017 off on the right foot with a big win against Cal Lutheran. Unfortunately, St. Kate's will have to wait for its first official win of the season. Despite battling  the Regels for 90 minutes, the Wildcats were unable to leave Thousand Oaks, California with a victory, falling by a final score of 3-1.

Cal Lutheran was the first team to get on the board, scoring the first goal of the game 25 in to the first half. Jordan Miller managed to sneak the ball past starting goalkeeper Tayler Koop (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) to give the Regels the 1-0 lead.

Of course, St. Kate's wasn't down for the count. Despite being down 1-0 at the half, the Wildcats continued to threaten Cal Lutheran goalkeeper Gabby Flores. St. Kate's persistence paid off as it was finally able to find the back of the net at 53:54, as sophomore transfer Maddie Conners (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Hill-Murray) scored not only the first goal of her career as a Wildcat, but the first goal of the 2017 season, evening the score at 1-1.

Sadly, St. Kate's was unable to hold the Regels forwards at bay in the remaining minutes of the game. Three minutes later, Bri Pinal regained a 2-1 lead for Cal Lutheran with a goal at 56:00. Miller then scored her second goal of the game, extending the Regels lead to 3-1 with under 20 minutes remaining in the game.

The Wildcats continued to pressure Flores and Cal Lutheran's defense, but they were unable to find the back of the net for the second time in the game, falling by the final score of 3-1.

St. Kate's was outshot 23-7 in its opening game of the season, but Koop and senior goalkeeper Jesse Perez-Adame (San Jacinto, Calif. / San Jacinto) made seven saves during the 90 minutes of play. Outside back Amanda Carey (Hudson, Wis. / Hudson) and junior forward Kaitlin Machovec (Maplewood, Minn. / North St. Paul) led the team with two shots a piece, while Iryna Talkachova (Minsk, Belarus / Shattuck-St. Mary's) had one shot on goal during the game.

The Wildcats will look to rebound on Sunday when they take on La Verne at 11 a.m. PST. St. Kate's will then return to St. Paul, Minnesota for its first home game of the 2017 season on Saturday September 9, when it hosts UW-Whitewater at 1 p.m.