MENOMONIE, Wis. – The now 1-0 St. Catherine University Wildcats opened their season against non-conference opponent University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils 3-0 on a beautiful Saturday evening in Menomonie. Throughout the preseason, the Wildcats clocked countless hours configuring their system since adding eight first-years and three transfers to the mix. Another big change on the field this season is starting goalkeeper, junior Tayler Koop (afjadkfjakdjf) who appeared in thirteen games last season behind the then senior starting goalie and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) 2017 All-Conference Honorable Mention, Jessica Perez-Adame.

In today's game against UW-Stout, the Wildcats looked as if this team had been playing together for years, rather than less than just a month. Second year head coach Jesse Campos said after the game, "I'm very pleased with how they moved the ball with composure through the thirds and created many chances."
Striking first unassisted was senior defender Iryna Talkachova (Minsk, Belarus / Shattuck – St. Mary's School) to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead over the Blue Devils just 6 minutes and 12 seconds in the first half. Six different Wildcats had shots in the first half but only junior midfielder Alyssa Siljendahl (Duluth, Minn, / Hermantown) and senior midfielder Molly Hayes (South St. Paul, Minn.)  had shots on goal in the first half other than Talkachova.

The team overpowered the Blue Devils in the second half coming out with a shot on goal by first-year Sofia Campbell but was saved Blue Devil goalie Claudia Anderson. Just over 12 minutes into the game, junior forward Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn.) found the back of the net for the Wildcats to take a 2-0 lead. Just minutes later first-year Amora Valenica (Hemet, Calif. / Nuview Bridge Early College) had her first shot on goal of the game that was again saved by Anderson.

Campos played a deep bench in the game with the first-years clocking a lot of minutes and playing impactful roles in the field. With just under 20 minutes to play first-year Sofia Campbell (St. Paul, Minn. / Nova Classical Academy) scored her first collegiate goal for the Wildcats to give them a great lead at 3-0.

Overall Koop played a total of 90 minutes with 2 saves and 3 shots faced. The team had a total of 16 shots, 9 shots on goal and 3 goals. The Blue Devils had 3 shots total, 2 shots on goal and goal keeper Anderson had 6 saves.

The Wildcats are back in action for their home opener in a non-conference game against University of Minnesota Morris at 5 p.m. They open their conference season at home on September 11 against Augsburg University at 4 p.m.